Tane
by Z-Nugget
Summary: Living up to a sister like Kairi was never easy, but when seperated from her and left with Riku in the darkness, will he still treat her like a baby? Set at the start of Kingdom hearts, following the same events.
1. The Darkness

A small sigh escaped Tane's lips as she peered out behind the curtains of her tiny bedroom window, looking down at her sister's friends. She'd always been stuck with the small bedroom since her and Kairi had ended up at the mayor's house and he'd favoured her sister over her. She was never going to be like Kairi, no matter how much she tried. It seemed like her sister had all the boys on the island wanting to be friends with her, while she was left following her around in the background.

Though that wasn't entirely true. She did resemble her sister quite a lot. The same bright red hair, same build- If not slightly smaller due to the year age gap. Infact the only main noticeable difference was Tane's eyes. Instead of the bright blue like Kairi, the younger girls were a striking emerald green. If it wasn't for that, she probably could pass for Kairi half the time.

Pulling on a pair of black shorts and a red tank top that matched her hair, she opened the bedroom window and shimmed out onto the roof before dropping down to the floor. Even if she wasn't that welcomed into Kairi's group of friends, she had nothing better to do. It seemed the three of them were making a raft.

"What's going on?" Tane asked, moving beside her sister who was smiling at Sora. The spiky haired boy seemed nice enough, and had been friends with Kairi for years, he was also a lot more welcoming than the other friend Riku. Even though she was only a year younger than Kairi, Riku had always treated her like a little child. Luckily he didn't appear to be in hearing distance on the raft, and Sora answered her instead,

"We're going to sail away, see other worlds that are out there" He grinned pointing to the raft "It was Riku's idea"

Ofcourse it was Riku's idea thought Tane slightly bitterly, everything was _always _Riku's idea, and his idea's never involved Kairi's little sister. But never the less, she looked up at the older red head hopefully. Kairi was always looking out for her and trying to get her friends to let her join in. That worked fine with Sora's occasional plans, he did seem to truly not mind Tane. But when it came to Riku… "Can I come?"

"NO" Damn apparently Riku could hear. A frown crept over Tane's normally angelic features and she moved closer to Kairi, taking shelter from Riku's rant about why-would-he-want-to-baby-sit-the-whole-journey. "You're too young to come with us, 16's and over, sorry" He didn't sound very sorry. Tane looked up at her sister, her only other chance of hope. Maybe she could persuade Riku to let her bring her along.

"I don't need babysitting, and you know it Kairi, I wouldn't be any trouble, I don't want to be left here on this tiny island for the rest of my life.. There's so much more out there.." She trailed off, confusion flooding her features at the surprised look Riku was giving her. That had been the same thing he'd said to get Kairi and Sora on board with making the raft.

"You can come" He muttered turning away and continuing with his building "Just don't pack much. But you have to help build the raft. And don't. Mess. It. Up"

Tane wasn't sure whether to smile or scowl, and went with a confused reaction instead. Riku rarely gave into her like that, maybe he finally realised she was growing up. But his warning at the end suggested otherwise.

"And leave the dummy at home" Definitely otherwise.

She shrugged turning away from the older white haired boy and smiled up at her sister and Sora,

"So, what am I doing?" Hopefully it didn't involve working with him, which wouldn't be pleasant. Maybe she could do something simple, not that she'd mess up something difficult like Riku had suggested, but simple would be.. Well simple.

"I'm going to get supplies with Sora, so you'll have to help build with Riku" Kairi said, giving her sister a half smile at the look on her face. "Don't worry, he really isn't that bad, just show him what you can do" And with that her last hopes walked off. Great, stuck with an arrogant, I'm-so-perfect-you're-a-baby jerk all day. Fun. Maybe she could just stay out of his way. Pausing her internal rant on Riku, she strolled over keeping her hands behind her back. Atleast this way she was guaranteed not to do much.

"Go get some wood, big, long pieces, and don't mess it up" Apparently not. Giving a small nod she retreated into the trees looking for fallen planks. Did he have to say that silly warning with everything. Even a 'child' as he seemed so sure she was, was capable of simple tasks. Sitting down on the floor, Tane picked at the flowers, twisting them into pretty patterns and spent the next good part of an hour braiding them into her hair. When she was finally happy with the result, and her hair was covered with white lilies, she stood up and went searching for wood again. She had to admit, collecting wood for Riku wasn't her idea of fun. Then again, doing anything for Riku wasn't her idea of fun. But maybe it would help him get the idea that she wasn't a baby into his thick head. Running a hand over a lily in her hair absentmindedly, she picked up several pieces of long wooden planks that were scattered on the ground, checking they fit into the category of big, long wood, before heading back to Riku. He'd never specified how much he'd needed, and by the looks of the raft earlier, it hadn't appeared he'd needed any. He probably didn't knowing him. Never the less Tane walked back to him and dumped the wood near the raft.

Without looking up, or even appearing to look at the wood Riku spoke,

"You can't do anything right can you"

Tane scowled, "What's wrong with it?" She was half expecting him to say it wasn't woody enough.

"It's not right. Luckily I can manage without it" Tane continued to scowl. He'd never even needed that wood, and she could make a good guess that no matter what she'd brought back it would have been wrong. Giving up Tane turned to walk away but was stopped by Riku's voice, "Go pack, lightly and no baby stuff, we're leaving tomorrow" This was going to be such a fun trip she thought sarcastically. Being on a raft with Riku for however long was never going to be her idea of a good time.

Shrugging off her thoughts, Tane went to packing a small rucksack. When she was almost finished, a loud crashing sound made her jump and run to the window, her mouth dropping open in a mixture of shock and horror. Out of no where and a storm was filling the sky, blackness all around where their raft had been. It had already been getting dark outside, but this wasn't normal, especially for Destiny Island. Grabbing her mostly filled rucksack Tane opened her bedroom window again and jumped out, landing a little heavier than she'd meant to on the ground bellow. She had just managed to gain her balance when she noticed Riku, keeping his composure calm as always, was stood by the hole in the sky, Sora talking animatedly at him. She ran over to both of them stopping in the middle, glancing from one to the other.

"Where's Kairi?" She shouted at Sora, who was probably the most likely to know. Kairi hadn't been in the house when Tane had, she'd been out late all week with the two boys and they were the most likely to know where they were, but Sora wasn't the one to answer,

"She's already gone through" She turned to stare at Riku, not fully believing her sister would have jumped through a hole into the darkness, but then, what did she have to fear.

"I'm not afraid of the darkness" He said as if reading her thoughts, and held a hand out each to Sora and the young red head, darkness wrapping around all three of their ankles. Tane did her best to reach his hand, as did Sora and both stretched out, Riku's calm exterior still giving nothing of his emotions away. She let out a yelp the darkness below her snaked up and held down her own ankles down firmly, scrambling to reach the hand infront of her, gripping onto his fingers tightly.

What happened next all seemed to be a blur as they were both sucked into the darkness, she had no idea if Sora had managed to take Riku's other hand, or she was going to be able to keep hold of his hand until they finished falling. When they finally landed with a thud on a black stone floor, he was still holding onto her hand tightly as they stood up, glancing around.

"Fuck. We lost the other two" He muttered.

A/N: Ok, I've rewritten this chapter, and I want to thank the person who reviewed the first attempt called 'Panda'. Because of them they've made me realised that it was rushed by even my standards, and I could write much better than that. So I hope this is of a better standard and a better read. The problem I seem to have with all stories I write, is I can come up with parts for later on and I rush to get to them. But for people to read that part, the first has to be good. So yes, thankyou very much to 'Panda', reviews really do help me. Z-Nugget xx


	2. Sleeping

Brushing herself off and smoothing out her top, Tane stood behind Riku, his hand still in hers as they glanced around. There wasn't much to see, and she waited for her eyes to adjust for a few seconds. It was mostly darkness, with just enough light to make out where Riku was stood beside her. 'Fuck. We lost the other two.' His words were still rushing around her head, she couldn't be stuck here in god knows where with him.

"What happened?" She whispered, not sure whether to speak or not. Something could come out of the darkness and kill her for all she knew. The sudden sound of someone else's voice seemed to be enough for Riku to realise he was still holding on to Tane's hand and he dropped it immediately, folding his arms. She didn't even know why he'd still been holding on so tightly, maybe he'd forgotten she was there, or thought she was Kairi subconsciously.

"We need to find them" He muttered not answering her actual question. "They'll be together, we just need to find Sora" Tane nodded falling into step, closely behind a now moving Riku. He spent the next five minutes walking in the darkness, speaking to himself, barely paying attention. She wasn't even sure what _had_ happened. There had never been storms on Destiny Island, but all of sudden there was a huge one and darkness was everywhere. That made no sense. And she hadn't even managed to finish packing her rucksack. Though as she glanced at Riku, she noticed she was lucky to have one, he didn't seem to be carrying anything.

"Atleast I packed lightly" She muttered, noticing Riku was failing at trying to keep the hint of a smile off his lips.

"No, _I_ packed light, compared to me you packed heavy"

Tane shrugged playing with the straps of her rucksack, his usual snide comments didn't seem so snide right now, more.. Jokey. She shook of the preposterous thought. Riku and joke didn't go into the same sentence.

"We can't wonder around here forever you know…" She trailed off after a while of walking, thinking out loud. It probably wasn't the best idea as it would either be ignored or annoy Riku- then again maybe it was a good idea. But she did have a reason for speaking. Maybe his Royal Highness could survive walking around in circles of darkness without eating or sleeping for the next however long, but she definitely couldn't. It had been late at the time of the storm, thinking she tried to remember just how late. Atleast 10pm and they'd been walking quite a while now.. it must be atleast 11, which meant Tane was starting to get tired. Riku seemed to notice this and slowed down, but the young red head suspected he had no idea where he was actually going. The slower speed was easier for a while, but after what she could guess was another hour of following behind Riku, she began to grow tired again, and it was clear he was getting annoyed with having to slow down. His attitude towards it all was starting to annoy her in return though,

"You aren't superhuman Riku, everyone needs sleep and I definitely do. Please can we rest, just for a few hours?" She asked, chewing lightly on her bottom lip. He couldn't say no to that, surely. Even he was still a normal person,

"No" Apparently not.

"Please" Tane refused to lower herself to begging to him, but being so tired was putting a whiney edge to her voice. Luckily Riku finally saw the light- figuratively speaking, and sat down on the cold floor. A small smile spread across Tane's features as she sat beside him, but not too close and took off her rucksack, using is as a pillow to rest her head. Muttering a thanks she shut her eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep, her last thought being how long she'd managed to sleep for.

After what seemed like days, Tane shifted from where she was, feeling slightly confused and disorientated. Last she'd remembered she was lying on a cold floor, her head on a lumpy half empty rucksack. But now she appeared to be moving. Sleep walking? Not unless she could manage so lying down. But she was definitely moving. Opening her emerald green eyes slightly, she peered around trying to see her surroundings. Well, she wasn't on a floor. It almost felt as though she was being carried somewhere. Glancing upwards, she almost jumped out of his arms as she realised Riku was carrying her. He didn't seem to notice she'd woken up, or care was more like it, and he continued walking as if nothing had happened. She noticed her trusty rucksack was slung over his right shoulder, and his yellow jacket was covering her chest. But she couldn't figure out why he was carrying her. Could he have just waited a few hours and got some rest. Was he really that desperate to get to wherever he was attempting to that he had to carry her. Shrugging off the thoughts that were bombarding her head she curled up tighter in his arms and buried her head against his chest. He smelt strange. Not a bad strange, just a… Riku strange. Then again, when would she had ever smelt him before. This was probably the closest they'd ever been. As she let sleep take her over again, she vaguely heard the sound of his voice mumble,

"You really are a baby aren't you" Though there didn't appear to be any of his usual snarkyness to it. But that could just be her sleep filled mind talking.

A/N: I know, a short chapter. But there's more to come soon hopefully :P I forgot to add the disclaimer earlier actually, I don't own Kingdom hearts obviously, or any characters except Tane. Please Review all comments are taken on board, and thanks for reading Z-Nugget xx


	3. Portals

The next time Tane awoke, she wasn't sure whether she was happy or sad about not being in Riku's arms. But glancing beside her she realised he wasn't far away. Apparently he was still human, as he seemed to be fast asleep. Now who's the baby she thought, a small smirk appearing on her lips. Sitting up slowly, she pushed Riku's yellow jacket- that had still been covering her shoulders off, and lay it beside him. She had no idea how long she'd been sleeping for, but her stomach was telling her she was starving. Frowning, she moved her rucksack from under her head and peered inside. Maybe she had imagined Riku carrying her. Apart from the jacket, she seemed to be exactly the same as she had when she'd gone to sleep in the first place. Shrugging to herself, Tane searched through her bag for a chocolate bar she'd stashed at the bottom, incase she'd gotten hungry on the raft, and tried to open it as quietly as possible. Unfortunately she wasn't quiet enough, as Riku's eyes blinked open and he sat up right. Damn, why did he have to be such a light sleeper. Sighing- and knowing this was going to result in her sharing her chocolate, Tane turned around to face him. Almost immediately Riku's eyes travelled from her face to the chocolate in her right hand. Ofcourse he was hungry if he'd been walking while she was sleeping. Though Tane still hadn't crossed out the dream theory yet. She broke the chocolate in half, seeing which was bigger and held out the small half to him. In that split second, she swore she'd seen a smile flicker across his features. But now he was calm and expressionless again.

It was a nice, comforting feeling to know she wasn't alone in the darkness, even if it was with an expressionless ass, and it reminded her of how Kairi used to look after her when she was scared. Though she was a lot nicer about it. She felt an ache in her chest appear at the thought of her sister, she'd never been away from her for a long period of time before, and she was already starting to miss her. But she couldn't act like she missed her, Riku would think she was a baby again, and there was no way she'd give him more reason to think that.

Searching through her bag again, Tane found a small compact mirror, one of the last things she'd managed to pack before getting distracted by darkness attacking the island, and flipped it open. She couldn't help scowling at her own reflection. Looking a mess was not a thing she took well. True, she had never seen the point in covering her face in lots of makeup, and usually didn't wear any, but right now she'd kill for some. Placing the mirror on the floor and tilting it up so she could still see herself, she ran her fingers through her hair trying to untangle the lilies from it that she'd put in earlier. It was hard to believe she'd actually looked pretty. The wilting lilies fell to the floor as she plucked them out, and she noticed Riku watching her curiously. Surely he'd seen Kairi sort her hair before. Then again, her sister always seemed to look perfect and immaculate.

Once she'd deemed her hair decent, Tane turned to Riku to ask what they were going to do, but he'd already stood up and was walking ahead.

"I guess we're going then" She muttered more to herself than him, and placed the mirror back into her rucksack before running after him to catch up. They couldn't carry on like this. It didn't appear they were getting anywhere, everything still looked dark and dismal and there was no sign of light or a door to lead somewhere.

"Where exactly are we walking to?" Tane questioned, crossing her arms over her chest and refusing to walk any further. She was getting slightly annoyed at not being told anything. But Riku still seemed happy with keeping her in the dark (A/N: sorry found that pun funny xD). "Riku" She glared up at the older boy. Thankfully he decided to 'take pity' on her, and spoke,

"We came here through a portal of some sort, in the darkness. So there's got to be another one." He said, missing out the 'I hope' that Tane was sure he should have at the end of that sentence. Even he couldn't be so positive about this. But never the less, he started walking again and she followed. She was starting to feel like a sheep.

After what she could only guess a few hours of walking, and wondering how they were ever going to find this 'portal', one appeared infront of them. Tane blinked several times, wondering if she'd imagined it. They'd been walking for god knows how long and suddenly one was there? No. Even by the standards of everything that's happened, a portal they'd waited for appearing right there was just silly. Riku seemed to think the same, as he approached it slowly, sticking his hand out and watching the tendrils of darkness snake up his fingers. It was just like the one's that had appeared on Destiny Island, only they were trying to get Riku's hand rather than his ankles. He turned back to look at Tane, a smug look covering his face. She wanted it hit him. Though she'd never hit anyone in her life and would probably cause more damage to herself than him. Instead, she took the few steps forward to meet him beside the hole, holding her own hand out to it, before taking his in her free hand. Sora had got separated from them too easily, and she wasn't about to lose Riku just yet, even if part of her wanted to. But he didn't complain or try to pull his hand out of hers. Instead it almost seemed like he'd squeezed her hand. Turning her head to look up at him, Tane gave a small smile before stepping through the portal with him, glad the smug look had vanished off his features.

A/N: Ok, another chapter up, and chapter 1 had been rewritten to a better quality. I'm not sure whether to do lots of short chapters that will be up every few days or so, or longer chapters that will take a while longer. So far I'm doing short ones, hope that's ok xD As always, reviews are welcome, and Thankyou to mezwantzygs for reviewing Z-Nugget xx


	4. Accommodation

Tane wasn't sure how to react to the green woman stood infront of her and Riku. As they'd stepped through the portal, Riku had positioned himself infront of Tane, so he was half blocking her view from the green woman. She couldn't figure out why he'd done this, probably so he'd get to see first and appear all superior. That was just like him. Frowning, she stood on her toes, pulling her hand out of his and trying to lift herself up and peer over his shoulders. The woman looked strange, no one Tane new had green skin, maybe she was sick? Riku pushed her backwards slightly, so she couldn't see the woman again, but his voice wasn't proud or superior. It sounded strange, and she couldn't put her finger on it,

"Who are you?" 'Cause that wasn't an obvious question. Tane tried not to roll her eyes and looked at the older boys' back, giving up on trying to see the woman. But he had a good question. Who was she? And had she been the reason for what had happened on the island? Still frowning she decided to pay attention to the conversation,

"Someone who can help you, and the power you need" Her voice wasn't friendly, and had an eerie tint to it. She wasn't sure what the green woman did next, but it caused Riku to move backwards, putting himself closer to Tane and more in the way than before,

"She stays out of this" He hissed, and she realised the woman must have tried to look at her. She was starting to get annoyed with Riku standing infront of her. Why was he so determined to treat her like a baby. Apparently the green faced woman was starting to get annoyed too, as her voice sounded harsher than before.

"I was only expecting one, but I can have another room set up. Providing you coopperate, darkness can be a very valuable allie" Tane wasn't sure how darkness could be an 'allie', but she wasn't about to ask. The idea of a room, which she hoped would include a bed and shower, was definitely enticing. Riku seemed to agree as he gave a small nod, and started walking forwards. Before he'd taken more than two steps though, he seemed to realise Tane wasn't following him. To solve this, rather than ask her, he grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him. The green woman, that Tane later learnt was called Maleficent, opened up another portal and stepped through. Had these people never heard of doors? Riku seemed fine with the black hole portals though, and decided to step right through after her. This left Tane with no choice of what to do, as he'd still been roughly gripping her arm and she nearly went head over heals after him.

She hadn't known what to expect, but for some reason she hadn't expected so much darkness. They were stood in a long hallway, with doors leading off in every direction. Maleficent pointed towards one of the doors slightly down the hallway, and looked towards Tane. It was the first time she'd seen the green woman properly thanks to Riku's arrogance of wanting to be infront. But part of her was thankful to him. She didn't think she'd ever be able to describe Maleficent, even with her stood infront of her. Hideous, Green, Traumatic.. Were just several words that entered her head.

"Hers' Maleficent said to Riku, gesturing from the room again to Tane. 'I guess that's mine' she thought, hoping it was lighter than the corridor. Shrugging to herself, she'd just be happy with a bed right now, Tane took a step towards the door, but was stopped by Riku's firm grip on her arm still. She turned her head to give him a questioning look, but he was looking at Maleficent. What on earth was the point in stopping her if he wasn't even looking at her to say why.

"She'll be fine" The sickly green woman said, and Tane pulled her arm free from Riku. Did he always have to treat her like she needed looking after? Throwing a scowl over her shoulder at him, she carried on to her room.

Well, it was just as dark as the corridor, she was starting to think that was the theme in this place. But on a small table in the corner of the room, there was a candle. A small smile flickered across her lips as she shut the door and walked over to the dark red candle. There was a pack of matches beside it, which she promptly lit the candle with. The room wasn't filled with a bright glowing light or a relaxing scent, but there was a faint glow surrounding the table. Her smile grew as she watched the candle, the flames enticing her. Fire had always interested her, like it was dancing across the hot wax.

She spent the rest of the night mesmerised by the flame until the candle finally burnt out, and that was her cue to get some rest. Standing up from the floor, and shaking her foot awake, she trundled into the bathroom, amazed that there was actually a shower and turned it on, not bothering to take her clothes off before stepping into the hot water. After a few days of not showing, it was relaxing to feel the water against her skin. Unfortunately, it gave her time to think. And she started to realise just how much she missed Kairi again. Why couldn't she have been stuck with her sister instead of Mr I'm-so-perfect-and-calm-and-going-to-treat-you-like-a-baby. But there was nothing she could do about that right now. She'd just have to wait and find Kairi with Riku. Or as he'd said earlier, find Sora, who he was so sure Kairi would be with. Even though she was tired, Tane easily spent over 2 hours standing in the shower. Once she decided she was too tired to stand any longer, she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself, kicking her clothes that she'd discarded halfway through the shower to the side of the floor. Walking into the bedroom, she found her bag again and opened it up, taking out a hair bobble and tying her hair up into a loose bun so it wouldn't dry completely messily, before pulling on a clean set of underwear and lying on the bed. She had no idea why she cared about how she looked right now. There was no one around her that she wanted to impress. Riku was.. well, an arrogant ass, and the only other person she'd seen around here was Maleficent who was.. creepy and green. Even though she'd know she was tired, she hadn't realised just how tired. As soon as her head touched the pillow- that wasn't exactly comfy, she felt herself slipping off to sleep.

A/N: Ok so chapter 4 is up. Thanks to everyone who's reading this and reviewing, please carry on I'll have more up soon Z-Nugget xx


	5. Tables

The next few days passed as a blur. Food was delivered to Tanes' room three times a day, and though she was allowed out of the room, she didn't risk exploring incase she got lost. Riku hadn't shown up since they had all been in the corridor, but she had no intention of trying to find him. Standing up off the bed, she pulled on her clean red tank top and black shorts. A laundry bin had been put in the bathroom after the first night, and her clothes ended up being washed on a daily bases. She had to admit she was thankful of that, as she hadn't packed many spare things.

She was starting to get bored of lying in that dark room, and it wasn't helping her mood. Walking over to the mirror, she picked up the dull green hairbrush beside it and brushed the knots out of her hair. Nothing in the room was even remotely bright. The only thing that wasn't green or black had been the candle, and that had sadly burnt out within a few hours. After she was happy with her hair, Tane placed the brush down and walked towards the door. She had no idea where she was going, there were over 10 other doors in the corridors, leading off in all different directions. One could lead her into a portal somewhere and she'd be lost forever.. Or one could lead to Maleficent and Riku.. She didn't know which was worse. Closing her bedroom door behind her, Tane surveyed the corridor, feeling like a naughty child that was sneaking about when she wasn't meant to. She'd never been told to actually stay in the room, then again no one had spoken to her since they'd gotten here. But if she wasn't meant to explore a bit, someone would've told her, surely?

The only problem was she had no idea where to go from the corridor. A portal had brought them here, so it was unlikely she'd end up where her and Riku had started. Pushing the idea's of possible death if choosing the wrong door to the back of her mind, Tane walked down to the end of the corridor and pushed open a pitch black door. There didn't appear to be anything behind it that looked particularly interesting, just another corridor. She took that as a good sign. Checking behind her to make sure no one was watching, she shut the door and entered to the new corridor. It looked exactly the same as the last one, with doors in every direction. Great, because this wasn't an easy place to get lost in. strolling down the new corridor, still not sure what she was doing, Tane opened one of the doors on the left and froze. Instead of another corridor that she'd expected, it led to what looked like a huge dining room. It was as dark as the rest of the place, but atleast it wasn't another hall with lots of doors. Taking that as another good sign , everything seemed to be a good sign right now, she entered the new room, walking against the walls and looking for another door. Doors were good. You could always go back through doors unlike those stupid portals. What exactly was this place? She wondered, It was like some sort of castle, all that was missing was a torture room. And knowing her luck, she'd be sure to end up there. What would be in this torture room anyway, maybe one of those stretchy tables.. Well atleast that could make her taller-

A door opening interrupted her mind babble and she froze again. For some reason she got the feeling she shouldn't get caught in this dinning room or she might actually end up in a torture room dungeon thingy. Running and diving under the table, Tane took up a suitable hiding place as she peered out at who had entered. It was almost typical that it was Riku, but he wasn't alone. Maleficent and another person in a dark robe she didn't recognise was with him. Riku looked annoyed, and whoever Maleficent was talking about was making him worse,

"She's useless to us, if we dispose of her now, no harm will come of it" Tane didn't have a clue who the 'she' was, but whoever it was, was making Riku extremely angry.

"Nothing happens to her. She's staying with me, is that clear?" She'd never heard him sound so angry. It was a strange contrast to the usually emotionless pit of despair she was used to and she wasn't sure which she preferred. It wouldn't be nice to be on the receiving end of this Riku, and she once again wondered who they were on about. Someone he seemed to care about- well she was stumped. She didn't think he cared about anyone besides himself. The older woman didn't seem to like this side of Riku either though, as she gave him a haughty look and a nod,

"I have other things to attend to, and I believe you wanted to look for that friend of yours that's moved on?" She raised an eyebrow as Tane craned her neck around a chair to get a better view, assuming they were on about Sora and Kairi. Good, she might finally be able to get out of here and back to her sister. But what did she mean by 'moved on'. Sora and Riku had been friends since as far back as she could remember, there's no way he'd have moved on from that. Maybe it meant something else?

"I know him. And what you're saying isn't true. If you bothered to give me the details of where he was, I'd prove that to you" Ah he was back to his calm and emotionless look Tane noted, but there was still something strange about the tone of his voice. She replayed the words of what he'd just said in her head, before nearly jumping up and joining in with the conversation, and It took all of her self control not to go over and shake Maleficent. She knew where Sora was! Which meant she knew where Kairi was and she hadn't told Riku. She could have been reunited with her sister days ago if it wasn't for that stupid old bat. Scowling she realised her internal rant had meant she'd missed part of the conversation, and listened again,

"You should find him there, Somewhere. But don't come back disappointed when you realise he _has _replaced you" Tane had no idea how Riku managed to keep so emotionless all the time, that woman would have driven her crazy. But as she put the pieces of what she'd missed together, she realised she'd soon see Kairi. There was no way she'd let Riku go without her and leave her here, which he surely would. Even if it meant appearing from her hiding spot and getting in trouble for listening in. It appeared luck was on her side however, as the horrid green woman left the room with her companion after that, and there was just Riku who would shout at her. Atleast he couldn't imply she was a baby in any way from her hiding under a table, right? Pushing a chair out of the way, Tane scooted out from the table and stood up, smoothing her clothes off before looking at Riku. For once he had a slightly bemused look on his face that she'd never seen before,

"Still playing hide and seek? Aren't you trying to be a bit older than 5?" Apparently he could. But even that couldn't bring her mood down and displace the smile on her features. She was going to see her sister again.

"You know where Sora is" She said, ignoring him comment knowing full well he didn't want an actual answer for it. The bemused look disappeared off of his features though, and she didn't know whether to take that as a good or bad sign. Did it mean he was angry at her for listening in? Well that was his own fault, he should have included her in the conversation from the start.

"Are you going to take no for an answer?" Tane frowned for a minute as she pondered what he'd meant. No for him knowing where Sora was? That was stupid, as he'd gathered she'd heard the conversation where he'd been told where his spiky haired friend was. Or did he mean about her going with him? That had to be it. Well, atleast he'd finally said something they'd agree on. She wasn't going to take no for an answer and she shook her head, for some reason words escaping her.

As she watched Riku create a portal from thin air and wondered how he'd done that, part of her also wondered if he really did look exasperated or if she was just imagining it. He didn't have emotions, atleast not around her. He was kind of like a robot.. But there was something about how he looked at that second, as he looked from the portal to her and held his hand out- no doubt not wanting to risk getting separated, a look that made her question going. She shook the thought of quickly and put it down to her being worried about seeing her sister again. Why else would she have doubts of going and leaving this place and Riku? That was just stupid.

Walking forwards to stand beside the white haired boy, Tane took his hand and looked at the portal. That was it, her way out. It would take her to Sora and Kairi and away from this dark, dismal, depressing place, Maleficent.. And Riku? No, he'd join them. What business would he have staying with the green woman rather than his friends? He didn't Tane decided and stepped into the portal, Riku behind her. Hopefully that would be the last time she'd ever see that stupid place.

A/N: New chapter ;) I wasn't sure how to end this one, as the next one could end up being REALLY short as I've written the one after that one and need the meeting to be done in-between. I'll try making it detailed and what not so it won't be dreadfully short. I could have put the next one with this one, but then this wouldn't have been uploaded until like 2 more days as I wont be writing tomorrow or probably Sunday. But the next (possibly short) chapter will be written and up soon I promise. Please Review, Thankyou to the people who do and who are keeping up with this story, it's because of you I'm writing and uploading it, so I hope you enjoy the turn of events about to come ;) Z-Nugget xx


	6. A turn in events

A/N: As usual, I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor any characters except Tane. Quotes have been used which I don't own either obviously ;) Enjoy xx

Tane couldn't help the small scream that escaped her lips as she stepped out of the portal. Surrounding her were strange black floating creatures that seemed to have armour on. Sure, they looked slightly cute, but not when you weren't expecting anything like that and when they were trying to attack you. Fortunately, Riku had somehow gained a weapon that seemed to get rid of the armour things easily. What exactly was it that he was holding? It wasn't a sword, though it did resemble one sort of. It was black, with a dark red going outwards and almost looked like a wing. Why did he get to have some blade yet she was left defenceless? Scowling, Tane crossed her arms, finally looking at where she was. She had been too distracted with almost being attacked that she hadn't noticed Sora. A smile replaced the scowl, but was soon changed to confusion as she realised Kairi wasn't with him. Why not? Where the hell was her sister? Riku had said she'd be here! She couldn't not be here! Looking from one boy to other frantically, she was about to demand to know where her sister was, but was stopped by Riku's voice. Did he always have to talk?

"There you are. What's going on?" Was that really the best thing he could have asked. How about, 'where's Kairi?'

"Riku!" Ok, so she was the only focused one here. Sora had only just seemed to comprehend who Riku was, and he was now grabbing his face. This was going to be a long night. Though she did have to admit, seeing Sora make the older boy pull funny faces, was rather comical, and she couldn't help the hint of a smile that threatened the dull her panic for Kairi.

"Hey, hey cut it out" Well he'd lasted longer than Tane thought he would with having his face contorted in different directions. If only the wind had changed quickly and his face had been stuck like that.. Taking her view from Riku, she instead decided to study Sora properly. She'd known him since her and Kairi had arrived on the island, and he hadn't really changed. Same spiky hair that seemed to defy gravity, same blue eyes, same style of clothes. The only thing that had really changed was his height. But he looked exactly the same as he had when they'd got separated. She took that as a good sign. Except right now, he looked like he was dreaming as he watched Riku, and his words seemed to back that up,

"I'm not dreaming this time, right?" Did that meant he'd dreamt about that arrogant jerk? Tane made a face, that was wrong in so many ways. Riku didn't seem to take the question the wrong way and answered reasonably nicely. He'd always had a friendly tone towards Sora. 'I guess it's just me that gets the snarky side' she thought to herself, keeping her arms tightly crossed over her chest.

"I hope not, took forever to find you" He replied, running a hand through his white hair. What was he, a model now? That wasn't a nice thought either. But he had a point, it had taken them ages to find Sora again, it seemed like a century. Especially when stuck with just Riku. Tane bit down on her bottom lip, unsure of what to do, she didn't exactly feel comfortable standing with two people that were technically her sisters' friends. Speaking of her sister..

"Wait a second, where's Kairi?" Finally! Wait, that meant Sora didn't know where she was.

"Isn't she with you?" Riku frowned slightly as he observed Sora, he'd been so sure Kairi would've been with him. This meant more searching. So far Tane had stayed quiet through the conversation, but she was starting to get annoyed, and mainly with Riku,

"You said she'd be with Sora!" She looked up at the older teen, trying to keep the angry expression on her face, which was quite easy given his reply,

"Don't worry, she made it off the Island" That wasn't any help. Kairi could be anywhere! The world was apparently bigger than Tane had thought it was, and that meant her sister could be even more places. It was going to be impossible looking for her.. Maybe Maleficent might know.. No, she wasn't going to go back there. Not even for Kai- would she go back there for Kairi's sake? If that horrid green woman could know where her sister was, would she go back? Tane made up her mind quickly on that, Ofcourse she would. Kairi would do the same for her.

Riku speaking interrupted her internal argument and she frowned again, all he ever did was anger her, but his conversation was directed at Sora and not herself. Still that didn't mean she couldn't listen,

"We're finally free. And hey, Kairi might even be looking for us now" He said, giving Sora a smile. The younger boy had reacted much like Tane when he realised his other friend wasn't there and he was currently looking towards the grey stone floor. "We'll all be together again, don't worry." Riku said reassuringly, though it wasn't too reassuring. Especially considering he'd been wrong about her being with Sora in the first place. "Just leave everything to me. I know this-" As Riku had begun to speak again, Tane and Sora had both noticed a black creature thing appear. It looked different than the ones from earlier, but the same type of thing. Maybe she should find out their names.. did they even have names? But Sora had reacted better than she did, and rather than just stare at it and try to come up with a name, Sora produced a giant key from somewhere that managed to get rid of the creature. The key sort of reminded her of Riku's earlier weapon, only his was more like a wing.

"Leave it to who?" Sora questioned as he grinned at Riku. Tane was starting to like the younger boy more and more. Not only was he apparently a good fighter, but he could also make fun of Riku.

"Sora, what did you-" Tane frowned, If Riku had been about to ask what he'd done, that would mean he couldn't have done it himself? But he'd killed those other creatures. That made no sense.

"I've been looking for you two and Kairi too, with their help." Sora said, cutting Riku off and ignoring his half asked question. So no one had any idea where her sister was? That was just great. She was going to be stuck with Riku for even longer. But atleast she'd have Sora too, and.. a dog and duck?

"Who are they?" Both she and Riku asked in unison. Neither bothered to complain at the other for taking their words, they were both too intrigued by the animals stood beside Sora. How had she not noticed them before?

"Ahem, my name is-" The duck started, and his voice made Tane giggle. She must admit, she didn't actually expect him to sound like a duck. But before she found out his name Sora cut him off,

"We've visited so many places and worlds looking for you." Oh great. So while he was off sight seeing, she was stuck in a dark boring room. Why couldn't she have been stranded with him instead. Riku didn't seem to mind that he'd been stuck in darkness though, and he also didn't seem interested in where his friend had been.

"Really? Well, what do you know? I never would have guessed." The sarcasm in his voice really wasn't necessary. How did he manage to actually have friends, Tane had no idea. The dog suddenly talking behind Sora made her lose her train of thought though. Atleast he didn't sound like a dog. Then again, what did dogs sound like.

"Oh, and guess what? Sora's the keyblade master." What on earth was a keyblade? Had that been what he'd been holding to kill that creature earlier? That would make sense she guessed, it did look like a key and if it killed something, a blade would be a good guess. But that still didn't explain what Riku's was. The dog shook Sora lightly, and Tane tilted her head to the side as she watched. It looked like the three of them had become good friends. What was it Maleficent had said earlier to Riku about him moving on? Her thoughts were interrupted again as Riku spoke. Did he always have to speak?

"So this is called a keyblade?" He asked, and somehow he was now holding the keyblade Sora had used earlier. Luckily, Sora seemed just as confused as Tane was as to how he'd got hold of it and he tried to get it back. Riku took a step backwards making his friend lose his balance and moved the keyblade out of reach,

"Catch" He said after examining it, and he threw it over to Sora who barely managed to catch it.

"Ok, so you're coming with us, right?" The question had been more directed at Riku, but there was no way Sora would leave her behind. "We've got this awesome rocket, wait till you see it!" Tane smiled at the idea of going in a rocket. The whole of point of building that raft had been to see other places, and so far all she'd seen was darkness. A rocket could take her.. Anywhere-

"No they can't come" Tane spun round to glare at the duck. What did he mean they couldn't go? Ok they could leave Riku, she'd settle for that, but she _had_ to go. Sora didn't seem to like the idea of them not going either though,

"Why not?" He questioned, leaning down to be the same height as his ducky friend.

"Forget it!" The duck said. Tane was starting to dislike him and she didn't even know his name.

"Oh come on, they're my friends!" By the sound of Sora's voice he was starting to get annoyed, and she couldn't figure out why he'd want to hang round with a duck with an attitude. As she glanced over at Riku she noticed he'd created a portal again and was walking towards it. That would surely lead back to Maleficent. But did she really want to stay here and listen to an argument that the duck seemed to be winning? That would mean she couldn't go with them anyway. Sighing at the prospect of having to return to the darkness, Tane ran after Riku and into portal, not bothering to take his hand this time.

The portal opened up to a huge dark; obviously, room. It didn't look that different from the earlier dinning room, except it was missing a table and there appeared to be a gold mosaic painting of a dragon on the floor. How lovely.. Tane looked around the room further and took a step backwards towards Riku as she noticed Maleficent was standing in the corner. She blended in perfectly with the green dark atmosphere of this place, and it was starting to creep her out. But Riku didn't seem fazed. He walked towards her his eyes on the surroundings. Apparently this was a room he hadn't been in either.

"You see, it's just as I told you" She said, clutching a fairly large green staff in her left hand tighter. "While you toiled around trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions." Tane didn't want to admit it, but what Maleficent had just said did seem right. Sora had seemed very friendly with that dog and duck, and though he had argued to bring them along, he hadn't seemed to be winning. "Evidently, now he values them far more than he does you" Well, I wouldn't go that far, she thought, frowning at the floor. There was no way she was going to frown at Maleficent. Sure, Sora seemed to value his new friends, but he and Riku had been friends for ages, there was no way Riku would think Sora could replace him like that, "You're better off without that wretched boy. Now think no more of him, and come with me. I'll help you find what you've been searching for…" She trailed off and Tane froze. Surely that meant Kairi. But could she really be trusted?

Maybe she could just go find Kairi by herself. Staying with Riku wasn't doing any good, and the odds of Maleficent actually helping them were slim. If she left, it couldn't be that hard for her to find her own sister, right? Tane turned and walked out of the room, glancing around before realising she had no idea where she was. She needed the main entrance.. that would take her out of this place and from there, she could go find Kairi. As she tried to decide whether to go left or right down the new hallway, Riku appeared behind her, flashing her a questioning look,

"I'm going to find Kairi." She said.

A/N: Ok O.o I thought this chapter was actually going to be short.. Maybe not xD haha. But I can't wait to upload the next chapter, which I will do on.. Monday night ;) It has a.. twist I guess you could say. Well sort of, I guess you'll have to wait and read it to find out. As always, Thankyou for reading, and please review, I do appreciate them and thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. Z-Nugget xx


	7. Revelations

"No"

Tane glared up at Riku, a look of pure hatred covering her features, all the progress they'd made over the past few days of becoming 'friends' now gone. How dare he not let her go. He had no right to tell her what to do. He was just a stupid jumped up ass that loved to boss people younger than him around. He'd been wrong about Kairi being with Sora. If she wanted to go and find her sister, he had no right to stop her. True, she couldn't conjure up portals like he could- but that was also his fault! He'd told Maleficent some crap about not wanting the darkness to take her over because she wasn't strong enough. Who the hell did he think he was to make her decisions for her. She was stronger than him! Heart wise atleast. Even Tane had to admit Riku was stronger physically. But that still gave him no right. She'd find a way to get to Kairi. And when she did, he'd be sorry.

And she'd start with the portal the arrogant ass had just conjured to go through. Admittedly she had no idea where it would take her, but that didn't matter. Did he think he could just tell her she couldn't go find her sister and then leave? The world did not revolve around Riku.

Pushing past him, Tane sprinted towards the portal, hoping she'd caught him off guard enough to make it. If he'd been expecting her to try anything there was no way she'd be able to do this. But it seemed he hadn't. Riku stumbled sideways, looking slightly surprised, before moving after her. Tane stretched out her arm, refusing to look behind at how close Riku was as darkness twisted up around her fingers. She could do this, willing herself to take just one more step. One more and she'd be free of him-

A spine chilling scream of frustration parted Tanes mouth as she felt Riku's hand grasp her free wrist. He was not going to stop her. Not this time. Yanking as hard as she could, Tane reached out to the portal again. But it wasn't enough. Riku pulled her back, the portal closing before her eyes, all her hopes of escaping from him vanishing. Just when had she become his prisoner?

She struggled again, managing to get a few fairly decent kicks to his shins and a good left punch to his cheek-, which was a miracle in itself, as she'd never punched anyone before. But all that seemed to do was anger him. And apparently he'd had enough of this one-sided war assault. Pushing her backwards- a lot harder than was necessary, Tane winced as her back and head collided with the wall. That was going to bruise in the morning. But she took slight pleasure in knowing Riku's cheek had already started to bruise from her first.

Gripping her wrists tightly against the wall, Riku continued to glare at her. Apparently the hatred was mutual now.

"I don't need babysitting" She said after five minutes of silence, venom filling her voice.

"Then don't act like such a baby" He spat back, his grip on her wrists not loosening.

Maybe it was because of hitting her head, or maybe being in such close proximity with Riku would explain her next actions. Or maybe, just maybe, they didn't need explaining at all. As she glared up at the older white haired boy that she'd grown to hate since childhood, something inside Tane changed. All the hatred and anger was still there. Definitely. But there was something else aswell. And that something, for however small or large It was, possessed her to lean up and press her lips hard against his. She wasn't quite sure what she'd expected or even why she'd done it. But she definitely hadn't expected to feel Riku's lips kissing her back, albeit roughly, but never the less, he was kissing her back. It wasn't a passionate or heartfelt kiss, and there was nothing special about it. But it certainly wasn't normal.

She wasn't sure whether to be grateful or upset when he broke away, but they were both slightly breathless. As she composed herself and glanced upwards at Riku, she couldn't help the shock that filled her features. As far back as she could remember, he'd always had a calm, unreadable look on his face. But now, she'd never seen so many emotions.

"Riku" Tane whispered, about to apologise even though she wasn't sure why.

"Don't" He said, taking a step back from her and releasing her wrists. Admittedly his grip had loosened when she'd kissed him. But her wrists still hurt as they fell to her side, "If you hadn't, I would" He muttered, before making a portal she'd been so desperately trying to escape into earlier appear, and stepping into it. Leaving a confused and annoyed Tane to slump to the floor. Alone.

A/N: Did you expect it? ;) it's short, I know. But Kinda an important chapter. Thanks for reading, please review. More coming soon, Z-Nugget xx


	8. Riku

Riku's P.O.V

A/N: Basically every chapter has been written from Tane's P.O.V, but I thought it would be a nice change to see what Riku was thinking/feeling after the last chapter.

As Riku stepped out of the portal he didn't even bother to check his surroundings. Honestly, he didn't even know where he was. He just needed to get somewhere else. Anywhere else. He had to think.. That couldn't have just happened. Tane didn't do that, did she? He had to have imagined it. Why the hell would he have imagined that though.. she was a little kid. A stupid little kid that he'd promised Kairi he would look after. And he was pretty sure that hadn't included kissing her. But even he couldn't deny, not even to himself, that he'd wanted that kiss. When he was stood so close to her, that fierce look on her features that made her appear like she could face anything, her smell that always reminded him of flowers, he couldn't resist that. And he knew what he'd said to her was true. If she hadn't kissed him then, he would have kissed her. Riku wasn't sure which was worse.

He finally decided to look around, causing a frown to appear on his features. This wasn't anywhere he'd been before. The older white haired teen stood in the middle of a huge forest, trees and vines almost blocking out his view of the sun. That was a strange thing in itself. Considering how sunny it had been on Destiny Island, he'd adapted to the darkness quite easily, and now it felt welcoming and right. But the sun.. was a strange thing, and he wasn't sure why. Walking towards one of the trees, Riku clung onto the branch closest to him and pulled himself upwards, he'd always used to race Sora to the tops of the trees back at home, and over the years he'd become a brilliant climber. After less than a minute he'd reached the highest branch he could without getting attacked by leaves and vines, and settled back against the tree trunk. It was a good place to be, he decided and he shut his eyes, taking in the sounds of the forest. He needed to think..

Unfortunately what he needed to think about was exactly what he didn't want to think about. That stupid girl.. How could she make him question so much. Ever since Tane and Kairi had arrived on the island, Kairi had become his best girl friend. She was amazing, and sweet, and not to mention pretty, and all Tane had ever been was Kairi's annoying little sister. She couldn't do anything right and always got in the way. But.. She was Tane. The annoying, but adorable young girl who was always trying to prove herself.

As Riku opened his eyes, sunlight flooded down onto him and he couldn't help shying away into the tree's leaves. What was he going to do? Just ignore her and stay away? Tell her not to do it again and she was a stupid kid? Or tell her he.. what? Loved her? Frowning he shook his head. That word sounded strange. The idea of loving anyone sounded strange In fact. But the thought of not talking to Tane, or ignoring her wasn't an idea he liked at all. Whether he'd promised Kairi or not, he would have protected Tane.

A/N: Ok, so a very short, quick insight into Riku's thoughts. Because this chapter was so short, another will be uploaded probably today aswell. Thanks to everyone who reviews, please review if you read, It helps Z-nugget xx


	9. Confusion

Tanes P.O.V

Tane stood up frowning. She'd never felt so confused. But who was she really confused with, Riku, or herself? She hadn't planned to do that. Ofcourse she hadn't! But she did, and there was no going back now. Atleast he hadn't shouted or insulted her. But his reaction was probably worse considering how confused it had left her. What the hell had he meant by 'if you hadn't, I would' He would what, have kissed her? Her frown deepened and she shook her head to herself. He couldn't have meant that, could he?

Walking towards one of the doors off the hallway, thoughts swimming around her mind, Tane pushed open a door and carried on through. Sure, she could end up anywhere, but right now she didn't care. After replaying the whole event in her head, she realised she was still no closer to getting to Kairi. Well, Riku had got his way with that, but she was sure he hadn't expected her to kiss him. Hell, _she_ hadn't expected to kiss him. Tracing a finger over her lips absently, she glanced around. It had been nice.. not sweet, or sincere, but there was feeling behind it, and she knew Riku had felt the same. Whether he'd admit that to her was another thing. In fact, how would he react to her now. Knowing the older teen, he'd probably ignore her.. 'Great' she though. As much as he annoyed and angered her, the idea of him ignoring her scared him. He'd been the only one that had been there for her in the darkness, even if it was making him act slightly stranger than normal.

Tane sighed loudly, glancing around before taking a door to her right, mildly surprised that she'd found the dinning room from earlier. From there she could probably get back to her room. But to sit in her room, alone and in darkness wasn't her idea of fun. Instead she opted for jumping up onto the table and crossing her legs, her back to the door that would lead her back to her room. For once in her life, Tane had no idea what she was going to do.

Ever since she was little, she'd spent her life trying to be like Kairi, trying to prove herself to her sisters stupid friends. Trying to prove herself to Riku.. but why? She'd never be Kairi, and she was stupid to just realise that fully. Trying to act like her, and be like her wasn't getting her anywhere. If anything she'd had more luck becoming 'friends' with Riku since she'd been away from Kairi. Then again, maybe that was why Riku had kissed her. He'd thought she was her sister.. She frowned thinking that over, and tried to push it to the back of her mind. It wasn't a thought she liked. But it could have been right.. He'd looked so confused afterwards. Aswell as angry, happy, annoyed, thoughtful, sad, grateful, shocked.. Considering Riku was someone who had always had an unreadable face, he sure felt a lot of things when caught off guard.

Tane jumped down from the table, a small scowl covering her features. Why was she letting herself get so worked up over all this. It wasn't like she actually felt anything towards that arrogant jerk. That wouldn't be possible. It had just been a kiss, brought on by such close proximity and frustration, and it was a way to get rid of that. Yes, that was it.

"It meant nothing" she repeated out loud, as if that would make it true.

"Glad you agree"

The voice made her almost fly in the air. How long had Riku been standing there? She frowned trying to remember if she'd heard a door open, but then reminded herself he could have just used a portal. How long had she been sat on that table was probably a better question, and she guessed at atleast a few hours. She couldn't help but wonder where Riku had been. His appearance was.. odd, she noticed as she finally observed him. Leaves and twigs covered his hair, and he had a small cut on his chin, it looked like he'd fallen out of a tree or something. But his face was as unreadable as ever. As Tane took a step forward, she couldn't help but cringe at the bruise that was deepening to a dark purple on his cheek. Looking back, trying to fight Riku to leave and find Kairi all seemed so stupid now.

"I'm sorry" she whispered, gesturing to his cheek, her voice barely audible. A look of confusion flashed across Riku's features as he reached his hand up, prodding his face rather roughly, realisation taking the look of confusion. But he soon went blank again. It was as though he hadn't known it was there. Tane couldn't help the slight annoyance she felt. That had been a damn good punch.

"Don't be" He muttered waving her off, and she was eerily reminded of their earlier conversation. But if he added 'if you hadn't, I would' onto the end, she definitely wouldn't have be pleased.

"Doesn't it hurt?" She questioned instead, finally standing infront of him. She barely reached his chin, so craned her neck upwards to see his face. She really must have stretched up when she kissed him.

Tane continued to look up at Riku, her fingers reaching upward to lightly brush his bruised cheek. To her surprise, he didn't flinch or move away, and instead pressed his cheek against her cool fingers.

"Does it?" She repeated, after five minutes without an answer. Riku frowned slightly,

"Does what?" Great, he wasn't even listening to her. Infact he looked kind of dazed.

"Your cheek. Does it hurt?"

"No" He answered through closed eyes, and Tane felt a mix of annoyance and happiness. She was glad he wasn't hurt by it, but she had no idea how it didn't cause him pain, especially with her hand against it. As she looked away from his bruised face, she noticed the twigs and leaves that were tangled in his hair. Where on earth had he been? Half smiling, Tane used her free hand to brush most of the forest from his hair. It really did look like he'd been attacked by a tree. Still half smiling, she looked from his hair to his face, noticing his eyes were still shut. Was he tired? Shrugging to herself, Tane started to pull her hand from his cheek, causing Riku's eyes to shoot open and for him to take a step back. Whatever daze he had been in, had been broken when she'd moved. His harden gaze was too much for her, and she kept her eyes on the floor, the smile that had started to take over her features gone. Tane sighed, not being able to stand there any longer, and turned to walk back to her room. But before she got further than two steps something had taken hold of her wrist- lighter than before, but still enough to stop her from walking. She turned her head back around to look at him questioningly,

"What?"

But the look she received from him showed he hadn't known why he'd done it either. Sighing again, she tore her bright green eyes from his dark blue and pulled her arm free. He didn't try to stop her this time as she walked out of the room, but she couldn't help looking back as she closed the door behind her. His expression as he gazed at the floor was enough to make her rethink her earlier ideas.

A/N: New chapter xD Back to Tane's p.o.v. Thanks for reading and reviewing, please carry on. Z-Nugget xx


	10. Dreams

As Tane walked back to her room, she contemplated all of that days events. In less than 24 hours she'd managed to attempt to run away, bruise Riku's face, kiss Riku, see him dazed whilst holding his cheek- see a lot of emotions on him Infact, and become extremely confused. Eventful… but what had any of that accomplished? She hadn't escaped and found Kairi, she'd bruised her friends cheek, and the kiss… she couldn't even begin to think about the kiss.

And then there was whatever Riku had said when he'd appeared in the dinning room and given her a heart attack.. what was it? She'd been trying to convince herself it had meant nothing, she could remember that. And he had said… Tane frowned trying to remember as she replayed it all in her head. Glad something.. Glad we agree? Glad you agree? It was something like that.. what had he meant by that. That he thought it meant nothing? No. That kiss had meant something to him and she knew it. His actions moments ago backed that up.

When she reached the room that had started to be classed as hers, Tane threw herself down on to the bed and kicked the door shut. Right now this was probably the last place she wanted to be, but where else could she go?

Shrugging off her top and shorts, Tane pulled the black covers over herself and curled up. It might have been an 'eventful' day. But she'd never been so confused. Though Riku seemed even more confused. She frowned, what did he have to be confused about? A 'baby' had kissed him. Shouldn't he just feel annoyed or something? Confused didn't make sense. Great, she was even more confused now than before…

Sighing Tane let her eyes close, and drifted off into an easy sleep, but her dream was… strange.

_She was stood in a large living room, a twisting stair case to her back, and a large black sofa facing away infront of her. She recognised the place from somewhere, but she wasn't sure where. Glancing out the window, she was mildly surprised to see she was on Destiny Island. But this wasn't her house, or one she'd been in before.. it was Riku's. So it shouldn't have been such a surprise when she walked around to the front of the sofa and saw the white haired boy lounging on it. He looked odd though. Tane had always seen him in blue trousers and a yellow jacket, but right now he was wearing all black. Maybe she'd spent too long around dark surroundings and it was messing with her subconscious. Shrugging the thoughts off, Tane looked down at him. His blue eyes were shut and it looked like he was sleeping. But she somehow knew he wasn't._

"_Hi" she said. Wow, what a great line. Even in a dream she still had no idea what to say to him.__ She'd never been able to make small talk with him, even when she was little and stuck at Kairi's side. It was one of the main reasons why she'd stayed away from him as they grew up._

"_Yes baby?" He questioned without opening his eyes. Great, even in her dreams he was calling her a baby._

"_You're a jerk" She muttered, a scowl covering her features. __Normally she would have ignored him, all he was doing was antagonising her, but for some reason she'd decided to respond. Strangely, her insult made him open his eyes and frown. He'd never reacted to her before, and she swore she heard hurt in his voice,_

"_Why am I?" He questioned as he propped himself up onto his elbows still frowning. How could he not know how he was a jerk? It was obvious she'd always hated being referred to as a baby._

"_I'm not a baby" she said, a scowl still covering her features. It was a stupid insult to call her, and this was her dream! Why was she being bullied by Riku in her own dream?_

_Dream Riku's expression changed at her words though, a smug grin taking place of the scowl, and he relaxed again. What was going on? She'd never seen him act so strange around her. Though maybe she'd spoken too soon, for Riku suddenly sat up-right and grabbed her wrists, pulling her towards him. Once she'd stumbled forwards and was sat awkwardly onto his lap, he shut his eyes again before speaking,_

"_My baby" He murmured, bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing it. Tane's eyes widened slightly as she stared at the boy infront of her,_

"_I-wh-what?" she stammered, not quite believing what was going on. His baby. As in, his? He better not have meant she was his child. That would have just been too wrong and weird even by this dreams standard. But his next actions suggested he hadn't meant it in that way. As she took her eyes from his mouth, she noticed he'd moved closer – if that was possible. There was barely any inch separating their faces now. Tane bit down on her lip, glancing up into Riku's eyes, surprised again to see so many emotions on his features, but this time __non where of anger of confusion._

"I-Riku?" She stammered again, not being able to form a sentence being this close to him. She sounded like a caveman, but right now that was the last of her worries. His eyes started to shut again as he leaned closer, closing the gap between them, and Tane wasn't sure how to react. She wanted to kiss him, though he seemed to want to do a lot more than kiss. As he met her lips with his, Riku's hands slid around Tane's slim waist, and he didn't waste time slipping them under her top and unhooking her bra. She frowned slightly into the kiss as she realised what he was going, but didn't bother to stop him. Rather than stopping any of this, she decided to move herself ontop of him without breaking the kiss, her hands now roaming Riku's own chest in return. She'd seen him shirtless many times from when he, Sora and Kairi had gone swimming on the island, but as his shirt was pulled off she couldn't help but gaze at his chest. It looked even more perfect than ever. A small, shy smile flickered across her features as her own top was removed, and she glanced down at him her hands fiddling with his trousers. Her lips met his again as she managed to undo the button and started to pull down his trousers. The dream might have seemed strange at first, but right now it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. After a moment though Riku broke away from the kiss, a serious look now on his features,

"Tane, I have to tell you something" He murmured into her ear, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up at the sound of this voice.

"Mm?" Was all she could manage in reply, her hands still roaming his chest. Couldn't it wait, if it was really that important..

The sound of knocking at the door woke her up, and she sat bolt up right slightly flustered. What the hell had just happened. She had just been about to.. No. It was a dream. A stupid, messed up dream that for some reason her mind had decided to conjured up to play a trick on her. She wouldn't do that with Riku.. But it had all seemed so real.. Then again, didn't dreams always seem real? The Riku in her dream had definitely seemed real. 'But he wasn't real' she said to herself as she got out of her bed. She wasn't sure whether she was grateful or not for the person knocking at her door. They'd either saved her from a nightmare, or one hell of a good dream. And she hadn't even found out what he was going to tell her! Scowling slightly she turned the doorknob and half opened the door, peering out into the hallway. She didn't have to look far to see Riku standing infront of her though. Was this another dream? Surely you couldn't have a dream inside a dream? Raising an eyebrow, Tane placed her hands on her hips. How was she meant to tell if this was a dream. This Riku was dressed in his usual blue trousers and yellow jacket, but his face wasn't emotionless. He wore a look of slight confusion and.. intrigue? What did he have to be intrigued about.

"I have to tell you something" He said after a few seconds, seeming to regain his composure and blank look. His wording oddly matched what dream Riku had said before she'd been awoken.. there was no way that could just be a coincidence. No this had to be a dream too. Right? Sighing, still confused over whether this was real or not Tane raised her eyebrow again,

"What?" Maybe it was her subconscious again trying to tell her something. If this was a dream she should be able to control it, to some degree atleast.. Dream Riku had kissed her, and she had to admit, she'd wanted to kiss him. So if this Riku kissed her, it was likely to be a dream? But he seemed more serious than kissing. Why were all her thoughts recently about kissing Riku? Giving up with the white haired teen standing at her door, Tane flopped back down onto the bed, just realising she was only in her underwear. Whether this was a dream or not, she couldn't help the blush that filled her cheeks and kept her eyes on the ceiling. Feeling the bed dip slightly beside her, she glanced from the ceiling to Riku, who was watching her intently. Why did he have to look at her like that, it was like she was under questioning for committing a murder.

"What did you have to tell me?" She asked again, pushing herself up into a sitting position. Thankfully the room was dark, so it didn't really matter much that wasn't wearing proper clothes, but she still felt embarrassed at Riku seeing her half naked. Really, what was so important that it couldn't have waited till she'd come out of her room. Then again that could have been days.. After waiting a while longer, it still didn't look like he was going to speak, so Tane moved closer attempting to encourage him to tell her. He didn't take it the way she'd expected though, and stood up off the bed shaking his head.

"Doesn't matter" He muttered, turning and heading towards the door. Why couldn't he just say. Did he always have to be so damned awkward? Well she wasn't going to let him be this time.

Jumping up after him, Tane took his wrist in her hand, much like he had done with hers. True, she wouldn't be able to stop him if he tried to walk now, but she could atleast try.

"Tane.." The emotion in his voice made her freeze, dropping his wrist. No one had ever said her name like that.

"Riku" She replied back, apparently managing to match the emotion correctly as he turned to face her. Considering how much emotion she'd seen from him the past few days, exasperation shouldn't have been a new one. But it was. Had she done something wrong? Maybe he was actually annoyed that she'd punched him earlier, the bruise did look a lot worse. Why the hell had she done that.. Sighing, she reached up and traced the outline of the purple on his cheek again, hoping he wouldn't react the same as earlier. Instead he stayed perfectly still for a few seconds, before taking her hand from his face and entwining their fingers. Were they going to go through another portal or something? 'I hope I can get dressed first' she thought, the idea of going to some random place in her underwear wasn't one she liked the sound of. But no portal appeared, nor did Riku speak. They both stood still as statues, deep blue eyes boring into bright green.

"Is this real," Tane finally questioned, not being able to help her curiosity any longer, "Or is it a dream?" It seemed real, Riku seemed to be standing there, and she seemed to be holding onto his hand. But if a dragon suddenly jumped out of the wall, she'd take a guess of it being a dream. Then again, that could be real.. Trying to ignore the random thoughts that were suddenly invading her head, she waited for his answer. But it wasn't a straight forward real or dream. Instead the older boy lent forward, his lips lightly brushing hers, before moving to her ear,

"I'd say real, but you never know" He whispered, before breaking away from her, his face going emotionless again. "I have to go somewhere tomorrow, it'll help with finding Kairi. You're coming with me." Whatever illusion had appeared when they'd been standing together was shattered as Riku went back to business. True, she did want her sister back, but that wasn't her top priority right now. The fact Riku had basically kissed her was. And if he thought he could just change the subject, he was sorely mistaken.

"Riku-" She began, but was stopped at the waving of his hand in dismissal. No, he couldn't dismiss her, she needed answers. "Ri-" she tried again, but didn't even manage to say his whole name this time as his lips had pressed down onto hers, cutting her off. He was kissing her.. He was kissing her! She couldn't think properly, this wasn't happening. She was the one who'd kissed him, and he'd been annoyed or something, not wanted to kiss her back. 'Why are you complaining?' a voice asked inside her head, and she thought about it for a second. Why _was_ she complaining? She wanted this didn't she? Pushing the thoughts of confusion away, Tane finally gave into the kiss, entwining her fingers back with his. It was nothing like their earlier kiss, or her dream kiss. It wasn't filled with anger or annoyance, and it wasn't steamy and passionate. But it was still filled with emotion, and the sweetness of it made Tane feel butterflies in her stomach. This time she really was sad when Riku finally broke the kiss, and the look on is face seemed to mirror that.

"I need to think-," He said, and Tane opened her mouth to protest but was stopped by his hand going up again, "Please Tane" There it was. He'd managed to put more emotion into those two words than he ever had in anything he'd ever said to her in her whole life. And she couldn't go against that. Giving a small nod, she took a step back, leaning against the wooden post of her bed. If he wanted to go, to think, she wasn't going to stop him. But she did have one last question,

"Was that what you needed to tell me, that you were going somewhere tomorrow?" Or had he meant something else. Apparently she wasn't getting her answer though, as Riku had turned and was closing the door behind him. Why did he have to be so awkward. Why couldn't he just answer? Sighing she watched as the door shut, but before it completely shut Riku turned to look over his shoulder,

"No" He said, before pulling the door closed and walking off.

A/N: Ok, long much xD Well compared to normal atleast. I watched vampire diaries last night and my god it was sad and poor Damon and I think that's affected my mood with this chapter ending and Riku O.o Oh well. Thankyou to everyone who's been reviewing so far, please carry on, and new reviews are always wanted. I logged on this morning and gained 11 reviews over night O.o it was a pretty good feeling actually :P But thankyou to 'the masked duck' who reviewed like every chapter at once, and to the people who usually review like mezwantzvgs and Azura soul reaver. They do help and are nice to get your views and opinions on the story. So yeah, I ramble quite a lot, but thanks to the people who do review (I know there are others I haven't mentioned, but this A/N would get too long, but thankyou!) and are keeping up with this story Z-Nugget xx


	11. Riku II

A/N: Riku's P.O.V again don't cha think? ;)

Walking back to his room, Riku contemplated everything that had just happened. Part of him was regretting even going to see her. It could have waited until the morning for him to say he was going somewhere and she was coming. But that hadn't been why he'd gone.. Sighing he kicked open the door to his 'bedroom' though it didn't even have a bed. Initially he'd thought it was a pretty good room, but after seeing Tane's he now felt cheated. Jumping over the back off the black leather sofa, he settled back against it trying to relax. She'd agreed to give him time to think, but what was he meant to think about? He'd kissed her.. and he couldn't even blame it on being angry or frustrated or whatever else like he could with their earlier kiss. This time he'd known exactly what he was doing. Sort of.. If he'd waited till morning that probably wouldn't have even happened! But no, he'd had to stupidly go and find her because of something 'important' that he hadn't even had the nerve to say in the end. What had gone so wrong? He'd walked up to the door and knocked like he'd planned, and then Tane had answered. Though he hadn't planned on her being half naked.. that had definitely caught him off guard. Was that really an excuse though? Could he honestly say that he would have gone through with what he'd planned if Tane had been fully dressed?

Shutting his eyes, another sigh escaping his lips, Riku undid his infamous yellow jacket and pulled the white shirt off from underneath. The sofa really wasn't that comfy, and it was starting to make him miss his bed. 'Tane had a bed' Was just one of the thoughts that entered his mind, and he promptly pushed it to the back. That wasn't even something to contemplate right now. He'd gone through his whole life thinking of her as a baby, but when she was stood in the doorway.. Well, she definitely wasn't a baby. Ofcourse that didn't mean he had to stop calling her it. It was funny with how wound up she got. But he was going off track.. Unfortunately he really did have to think it all over. It wouldn't be fair on Tane for him to kiss her every so often and then say nothing more on it. She did seem to like him, and honestly, he liked her too. But how could he tell her that? Kairi would be furious, or upset. It was no secret that they'd liked each other, but the older red head had also had feelings for Sora. Sure, if he was with Tane that would mean Sora could have Kairi, but he was pretty sure she wouldn't be happy about him being with her sister. Even if he feelings for Tane were a lot stronger than any he'd had for Kairi.. Maybe he should just focus on the task ahead. He'd be seeing Sora tomorrow, and if he wasn't careful he could be putting Tane in danger. Though she'd probably be in less danger coming with him than staying here and Maleficent finding her.

Changing from his sitting position on the sofa, Riku shifted down to lying, letting his eyes droop shut. He'd think more in the morning.. more about Tane.. that was an odd thought in itself. But he did have to have a serious think about what to do, and that wasn't something he was greatly looking forward to.

A/N: Another short chapter from Riku's p.o.v. I thought it would be a nice change from Tane again. Thanks to everyone who reviews, (And as for the vampire diaries note I put in the last one, I'd come up with a character for V.D and wrote a bit from the books, but before Rose was on the Tv series, I'd read the books and my own character was called Rose, which kinda freaked me out being the same name O.o I might upload it some time if people want to read it) Anyway another chapter will be up soon for Tane, and please keep reviewing. Z-Nugget xx


	12. Agrabah

A/N: Back to Tane

Knocking at the door woke Tane up again, but this time she was less than grateful. Her sleep had been dreamless, and therefore peaceful. Being awakened from that wasn't nice. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she pushed herself up and walked towards the door. But she stopped short of the handle and froze, a small frown covering her face. That was probably Riku, sure he'd seen her half asleep and half naked last night, but that didn't mean she was planning to let him see her in that state again.

"One second" she called over her shoulder, running over to her bag and getting clean clothes. The same red top and black shorts are ever. She quickly picked up the hair brush that was sitting on the side of her cupboard, running it through her mass of red hair trying to tame it. She could atleast try to look decent. Giving up, and having no more to do, Tane walked towards the door, pulling it open and offering a small smile to the older boy. Riku was stood lounging carelessly against the back wall. It looked like the wall had been made for him to lean on.

Riku seemed to look her over for a few seconds, before a small smile flickered across his features, disappearing within less than a second and he held out his hand. Tane's mind was screaming at her to ask about last night, but she wasn't sure if she wanted an answer. If he said yes, he liked her, then what? She guessed they'd be 'together', but that wasn't guaranteed, anything could go wrong. Though, that would be better than him saying no. What would happen then? They'd all forget the whole thing? Tane wasn't sure she wanted to forget all this, or whether she could.

But it was clear she wouldn't get an answer yet from how Riku was acting. Sure he'd smiled at her, but that smile wasn't exactly warm and welcoming. So instead, she decided to ask a different question,

"Where are we going?" Riku seemed to think about the question for a minute, before creating a portal infront of them

"Agrabah" He said as he held out his hand to her. Tane was getting used to the idea of portals, but it was still strange to hold Riku's hand. And where the hell was 'Agrabah'?

"Agra-what?" She frowned, taking a hold of his hand. The feel of his fingers against hers was starting to become familiar, and she couldn't help but smile slightly. Where was Agra-thingy though? It wasn't somewhere she'd ever heard of. It didn't sound very romant- No way was she just thinking about wanting to go somewhere romantic with Riku. Luckily the boy in question's voice snapped her back to reality.

"Agrabah, I've got something to do there" She wanted to question him further on what that something was and why she was needed, but it didn't seem like a good idea. He really wasn't in the question-answering mood right now apparently. Though he didn't seem in a bad mood either. Infact, Tane was sure he flashed her a brief smile before stepping through the portal, pulling her behind him.

She had to admit she hadn't expected the sand, and judging by the look on Riku's face, neither had he. But if he was going to drag her somewhere that reminded her of a beach, she was going to have fun. Sitting down Tane attempted to build a sandcastle, feeling like a five-year-old again, though because the sand was so fine it appeared more like a miniature hill.

"Baby" She heard the older boy tease, though there was no cruelness in his voice

"Can you honestly say you don't want to play in the sand?" The blonde shook his head, making her frown. How could someone not want to play with sand, it's just something you never grow out of. Though maybe Riku never grew into it. Maybe he just needed some encouragement. Tane scooped up a handful of sand and stood up, moving onto her toes and reaching over his head before letting go of the sand.

"Oops" She grinned looking at the unamused expression that was crossing his features, "Slipped" But within 5 seconds she was lying on the floor, her feet kicked from underneath her and a heavy weight ontop of her chest. Luckily Riku's firm hand had steadied her back to stop her from falling straight down, but she had still ended up on the sand. A frown covered her face as she looked up at him,

"Slipped" He said leaning over the redhead. Somehow she was sure he hadn't slipped, but what good would arguing about that do. Instead she continued to frown up at the older boy. He didn't appear unamused anymore, Infact it was quite the opposite.

"Riku?" She questioned, after several seconds past and his weight on her chest was starting to affect her breathing.

"Hmm?" Was all she got for a reply, along with his hand lightly brushing a strand of red hair from her face, though it lingered on her hair slightly longer than necessary.

"I uhm- we should, Agrabah?" She stammered, still not used to this new version of the boy she'd grown up with. Riku gave a small nod, standing up off of her chest, and Tane took a deep breath in finally able to breathe properly. Moving into a sitting position, she glanced up at him, taking his now outstretched hand and letting him pull her up. Though she hadn't expected for him to pull her right up close to him, and her expression must have shown such, as he had a smug look on his own features. But as the smug look faded from the blonde and he turned serious, the hairs on Tane's neck stood up- despite the heat of the sun beating down on their heads. And as he bent down to lightly press his lips to hers in a sweet kiss, a tingling sensation filled her whole body, like she'd just stepped out of a bath that was slightly too hot. A small smile was on both teens' faces as the older took a step back, linking his fingers into the youngers and heading towards one of the buildings. Riku might have seemed calm and collected as usual now, but Tane's head was reeling. Did that mean he wanted them to be together? But he hadn't said it, not in so many words. Infact he hadn't said any words. But that kiss.. that sweet, innocent, loving kiss. That must have meant something, right?

She'd been so wrapped up in her own thoughts, the redhead hadn't even realised they'd entered one of the sand buildings until the sound someone screaming snapped her back to reality. What the hell was going on. Looking around the room, Tane realised Riku had let go of her hand and was now holding another girl around the waist, one hand covering her mouth to stop any more screams. He may have been holding her, but it definitely wasn't kindly. Tane couldn't help feeling slightly smug about that.

"What are you doing?" She half shouted, true she should've known better than to question him as all it seemed to do was make him angry, but when he was suddenly grabbing some random girl that clearly didn't want to be grabbed, she couldn't help it.

"Do you want Kairi back or not?" She didn't bother to answer that. Ofcourse she wanted her sister back, but still how was taking this girl going to do that? Rather than asking another question she decided to just walk through the new portal that had appeared, Riku not far behind carrying the girl.

A/N: Ok, not uploaded in a little while sorry about that. But here's the new chapter. Please review, they always help Z-Nugget xx


	13. Bargains

Tane's eyes squinted as they adjusted from the bright Agrabah sun to this… darkness. She knew where she'd rather be. As she turned to question Riku on what had happened, a small squeak erupted from her lips when it became clear he had already gone through the far door. No, he wasn't going to leave her in this dark room alone. She didn't even know where she was! Running across the room and to the door Riku had left through, she swung it open and went straight into the worst person possibly. Well, that was enough to make anyone scream. Backing up, Tane glanced behind herself in an attempt to find another door, but Maleficent was already advancing.

"Are you ever going to prove your worth and give into the darkness?" Tane's eyes widened slightly as she continued to back up. If she'd been asked several days ago it would've been an easy yes to get back at Riku, but now.. Shaking her head she squeaked again as her back hit the far wall. Unfortunately that didn't stop the green woman advancing and she was soon stood right infront of her. "If not then we really have no need for you" Well that was a threat if ever she heard one.

"She isn't going anywhere" In all of her life, Tane had never been so grateful to here Riku's voice. Though the low growl he was then giving off was slightly off putting. It made him sound like a dog or something. Whether it was the dog growl or not, Maleficent took a step back from the younger girl, letting her run to the other side of Riku slipping her hand into his and giving out a sigh of relief. Why the hell had he left her in the first place? "I've locked the princess in the room, my end of the bargain's done." Bargain for what? Riku was meant to be smart, why had he made a deal with her? But he'd told her earlier it had something to do with Kairi.. She wanted her sister back more than anything, but if that meant Riku possibly risking his life.. Luckily she wasn't allowed to ponder on the thoughts for very long as the older boy was leading her off through the same far door he'd gone out of before. She'd learnt better than to question what was going on, whether she wanted to or not, but part of her couldn't help one thing slipping out,

"What's happening?" Sure, it sounded naive, but what else was she meant to do. Wonder forever?

"It's fine, just stay quiet" Ok that wasn't really an answer.. But arguing with Riku wasn't something she liked doing and asking more questions would probably annoy him. Wow, a lot really had changed within a few days. As they followed Maleficent to god knows where, Tane kept her eyes on the floor not wishing to look around. She'd given up on trying to find her way around the 'house', and hopefully Riku wouldn't let her get lost. He wouldn't even let go of her hand as they entered another room, and after a few seconds she realised why. There had to be atleast 6 other people in there, and non of them looked friendly.

Everyone just seemed to observe each other at first, until a blue fire looking person spoke. What was it with everyone being strange colours in this place? "That smarmy vizier could've had 'em" He said before looking at Riku, "If someone had stuck around to give him a hand" Riku frowned slightly finally letting go of Tane's hand and crossing his arms over his chest defensively,

"Hey I did my part. I brought the princess, didn't I?" So, the girl was a princess. She kind of looked like one.. but what did these people need with a princess? Tane wasn't sure whether she was happy or not when Maleficent came to Riku's rescue,

"Jafar was beyond help, consumed by his own hatred." Ok, she was lost. Who was Jafar? "One should be aware of letting it burn too fiercely" Tane could've sworn the green woman was looking at Riku as she spoke.

"Woah, woah, woah. Lighten up. I'm as cool as they come, ok?" Considering that was coming from a person that looked like fire.. she doubted that immensely. "By the way, kid, have we got something special for you" That wasn't something she liked the sound of as it was directed at Riku. She didn't want anything 'special' for him from them, it couldn't be a good thing.

"We had a deal, yes? You help us, and we grant you your wish" The image of Kairi appearing on the table was enough to distract Tane from Maleficents voice. That picture was definitely of her sister, that meant they knew where she was, she was going to get her back! A smile spread over Tane's features as she advanced towards the table, as if trying to take the image for herself, but she was stopped as someone grabbed her arm.

"Kairi!" His voice echoed her thoughts, but as she'd been told to stay quiet.. well you get the picture.

"Go to her, your vessel is waiting" Said Maleficent, causing another man to enter the room. He wore a large red jacket, and had a hook instead of a hand. Could these people get any weirder?

"Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise. It wont be a pleasant voyage" The hooked person said, and Riku's next words once again echoed her own thoughts,

"Why are you doing all this for me? What's the catch?" Sure, he'd got the princess for them. But they didn't seem like trustworthy people. There had to be another catch.

"Catch? What's the catch?" Maleficent questioned herself, turning and walking over to Riku. He was still holding Tane's arm from her previous attempt to walk forwards, and as the green woman advanced Riku pushed the younger girl behind himself. "Silly boy. You're like a son to me. I only want you to be happy" She said, her hand coming out to stroke his face. A look of distaste spread over the redheads features, how dare she touch him, and she definitely doubted that Maleficent only wanted him to be happy. Thankfully Riku mirrored her emotions and knocked her hand away, taking a step backwards, closer to Tane.

"I seriously doubt that" That seemed to anger her.

"Believe what you wish. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain." Riku didn't even bother answering, and instead turned around and exited the room, giving a light tug on the girls fingers within his to make sure she followed. He wouldn't leave her here with them.

A/N: New chapter, Thanks for reading and please review Z-Nugget xx (And I already replied to the person who commented about the ages being wrong but I'll put it on here too. Basically, I didn't do it by accident, I didn't want Tane to be 13 or younger, and if she were 14 along with Kairi's actual age they would have to be twins, which again I didn't want (Or for her to be older than Kairi). So I had to make the three main characters a year older than they were meant to. Hope that's ok and cleared up any problems) xx


	14. Pleasure cruise

Well, Hook really hadn't been over exaggerating when he'd said it wouldn't be a pleasure cruise. Stepping onto the ship beside Riku, Tane kept her hand locked with his. There was no way she was going to be left alone again, especially not on this ship. Unfortunately the ship jerking forward made both of them stumble slightly, only one managed to catch themselves where as the other fell forward.

Tane sighed unsure as to whether to stand back up and risk falling again, or staying on the floor with her legs crossed. Apparently it wasn't her decision to make, as Riku's arms were suddenly around her waist pulling her up infront of him. She turned in his arms whilst rubbing her lower back that she'd fallen on,

"You ok?" He questioned brushing his fingers over her back. The young girl gave a small nod, words currently escaping her, she still couldn't get used to those subtle touches. Riku flashed her a rare smile that quickly turned into a smirk. What had he to smirk about? It wasn't funny that she'd fallen over considering it wasn't even her fault. "I'll kiss it better if you want?" Tane's eyes widened slightly at his words. So that was what he had to smirk about.. Admittedly, the idea of Riku kissing her back wasn't a bad one. The idea of Riku kissing _anywhere_ wasn't a bad one. "Anywhere else hurt?" She raised an eyebrow at his question wondering what answer he was really looking for. Deciding to go with it, she pointed at her hand,

"Here" She said, laughing as he kissed her hand,

"And here" She repeated pointing to her cheek, which he then kissed.

"Anywhere else?" He questioned, keeping his face inches from hers. Tane grinned shaking her head, it was a lot more fun when he wasn't getting what he wanted. "Not here?" He murmured before ghosting his lips over hers.

"I don't think I fell on my lips" She said, trying to look as unamused as possible. Unfortunately she was also trying not to laugh, so it wasn't really working well.

"I don't think I want to risk it just in case" He whispered against Tanes lips, before pressing his rather roughly against hers, causing her to frown slightly at first, before giving into the kiss. They were both slightly breathless when they broke apart, and Tane wasn't helped either by the scream that left her lips as someone grabbed her from behind, pulling away from the safety of Riku's arms. What the hell was going on?

"Get off of me!" She protested struggling, as Riku stepped forward and looked about ready to kill the person that was holding her. But before he managed someone- well two someones had grabbed hold of him aswell and he was currently busy trying to fight them off.

"Calm down, we're simply taking her to the cabin whilst you go on another task" That seemed to make Riku even angrier, as he punched one of the pirates holding him in the face and attempted to get to Tane again. Was he really that mad about going on another task?

"She stays with me" He said, and Tane was vaguely reminded of what he'd said to Maleficent earlier. He sure seemed determined to keep her around.

"She'll be safe with her _sister_. Unless you'd rather take her with you where she could be in danger?" Hook said, amusement obvious in his voice. Wait, had he just said sister?

"Kairi?" Both her and Riku shouted, looking up at Hook properly for the first time. She was here? Actually here. Well, that was enough for both of them to stop struggling. The older boy gave Tane one last look before letting the pirates take him off in another direction to his 'task'. She had to admit part of her wanted to go with him, whether it was dangerous or not. But the chance to see Kairi… She'd spent the past few weeks with Riku, Kairi was her priority now, so just like he had, she let the pirate that was holding her steer her to the cabin. The door was locked for some reason. Why would you need to keep a door locked if Kairi was inside? Whether this was a 'pleasure cruise' or not, that shouldn't matter. Though it was obvious the pirate that was 'escorting her' wouldn't answer any questions. Instead, once the door was unlocked she was roughly pushed inside with it shut quickly behind her. The sound of it being locked again confirmed her thoughts, this was more of a prison than a cabin… Giving out a small sigh, Tane surveyed her new surroundings. There was a set of bunk beds against the far wall, a dresser, and.. Kairi! The older redhead was there. But she wasn't moving. Why wasn't she moving? Running over and kneeling beside her sister, Tane gave her a little shake starting to get worried,

"Kairi?" She whispered, hoping she was just sleeping. Maybe she was tired, yes that was it, she was tired. That had to be it.

"Kairi!" She tried again, giving her a harder shake. Still nothing. Her sister was a light sleeper.. any sound usually woke her up. There was no way she could sleep through that.

"Kairi please wake up, it's Tane, please!" She gave her sister another shake, though it was obvious it was useless. Something was wrong, very wrong. Why had no one else noticed this? Why hadn't they done anything?

Standing up and taking her eyes from Kairi, Tane walked back to the door and attempted to open it. Whether it was locked or not someone would hear her, and they'd come and help. They had to, even Hook had orders to keep people safe, right?

"HELP" She screamed banging on the door. Sure it wasn't the most imaginative way to get someones attention, but it seemed the best option. Her theory was proven when a few minutes later someone opened the door. Only it wasn't any old pirate. Ok, so it was pretty much a big emergency, but she still was shocked to see Hook appearing in his bed red jacket.

"My dear, what is the problem?" He raised an eyebrow not even bothering to look in the room. It was obvious he knew something was wrong with Kairi.

"What have you done t-" She was about to demand, but before she could finish the sentence everything went dark.

A/N: Ok, so thinking about it there'll probably be 2/3 more chapters for Tane, the next chapter will be up reasonably soon but the last chapter may take a big longer as I want it exactly right O.o thanks for reading and reviewing, please carry on Z-Nugget xx


	15. Mist

Riku stood beside the windowsill seat Kairi was laid on, his attention fully off Tane for once who stood at the other side of the room. Her head was still killing from whatever Hook had done, but she couldn't bear to look at her sister like that.

Riku had returned not long after, and quite honestly, gone mental. He'd knocked out several of the pirates before both sisters had been brought to him, Tane semi conscious and Kairi.. Well… Initially he'd gone straight to Tane, giving her a slight shake of the shoulders in an attempt to get her to focus,

"Are you ok?" He questioned, a mixture of anger and frustration in his voice. Thanks to her head all she could manage was a 'Mhm', which seemed to surfice as he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before turning his attention to Kairi.

"So, Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?" He questioned to Maleficent, who was also unfortunately in the room. A lifeless puppet.. that really wasn't a nice way to think of her sister.

"Precisely" Said that stupid green woman that the younger girl was really starting to hate. There was no need to sound smug about this..

"And her heart was…" Riku trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

"Taken by the heartless no doubt"

"Tell me! What can I do?" Riku asked, but was it really necessary for him to shout, she had one hell of a headache.

"There are seven maidens of the purest heart. We call them the princesses of heart." These people were obvious big on imagination.. "Gather them together, and a door will open to the heart of all worlds. Within lies untold wisdom, then you will surely find a way to recover Kairi's heart." How could someone lose their heart? After everything that had happened, she was still shocked by new developments like that.. especially when it involved Kairi. "Now I'll grant you a marvellous gift," For some reason, Tane didn't think anything Maleficent could do was 'marvellous', and she was already scared for the older boy. "The power to control the heartless" She couldn't help the squeak that parted her lips as a green mist surrounded Riku, and it took all of her strength not to push Maleficent away and go to him. But if it helped Kairi… and it didn't seem to be hurting him either…

"Riku?" She whispered after the mist had disappeared. He didn't appear to hear her at first, his attention still on Kairi, though after a few seconds he turned and walked towards Tane,

"Soon, soon" He repeated as he swept her up into his arms and pressed a hard kiss to her lips. Her head was spinning from the sudden movement and it took her a few seconds to realise what was going on. "Now come on" He said, placing his arm around her waist and pulling her forward towards the doorway. Whether he knew it or not, luckily he was helping to hold her up, and she incredibly grateful.

They walked up to the top of the deck, and it took Tane that long for her to realise one of the pirates was carrying her sister behind them, and placed her down at their feet. She seemed able to sit up by her self, but she didn't seem all there. Whilst she was busy looking at her sister, Riku had spotted whatever he'd come up on the deck for and had began to speak,

"I didn't think you'd come, Sora" Sora? She tore her eyes from Kairi long enough to spoke the spiky haired boy on the lower deck, a look of distaste on his features. Ok, sure enough the last time they'd spoken it hadn't gone too well, but they were best friends. They'd work through this, for Kairi right?

"Where are Donald and Goofy?" Who and who? She frowned as she looked from Sora to the blonde boy, he looked like he knew who they were, so why didn't she?

"Are they that important to you?" So he did know. "More important than old friends?" Wait, were they those people that were with Sora in that town? The duck and dog with weird voices.. "Instead of worrying about them, you should be asking… About her" Riku said as he stepped out from beside Kairi, Tane still joined to his hip.

"Kairi!" Sora shouted, and Tane wasn't sure if she saw her sisters eyes move slightly, she'd probably imagined it. Kairi didn't have a heart, she was a 'puppet' as Riku put it, her eyes couldn't have just moved, no matter how much she might want them to.

"That's right, while you were off goofing around, we finally found her" He said, pulling Tane slightly closer- if that was possible. Luckily her head had stopped spinning, so the movement didn't cause everything to go blurry again.

Another person appearing on the lower deck caught her attention however, and she went from Riku's bright blue eyes down to Hooks and Sora's.

"Not so fast. No shenanigans aboard my vessel, boy" Shenanigans, seriously? Pirate or no pirate he sound silly. And after getting hit over the head by him, Tane really wasn't sure whether she disliked him more than Maleficent. The blonde didn't seem to be pleased with him being their either though, and he once again gave a slight growling sound. Was he turning into a wolf or something? Either way it wasn't a turn on.

"Riku, why are you siding with the heartless?" Sora questioned at his ex best friend, as several heartless pirates that Tane found quite funny started to surround him.

"The heartless obey me now, Sora. Now I have nothing to fear." Oh, that's great so he chose the pirate looking ones rather a set of big scary ones? Sometimes he really wasn't smart… But Sora's next words stopped her thoughts and caught her full attention,

"You're stupid. Sooner or later they'll swallow your heart" That couldn't be right. His heart was fine, Sora was just over exaggerating.. He had to be.

"Not a chance, my hearts too strong" Riku's comment made her smile, she couldn't have put it better herself. But her heart was just as strong, she still couldn't figure out why he wouldn't let her join this darkness and conjure up portals. Maybe he just wanted to keep her trapped.. But his next moves were slightly off putting. "I've picked up a few other tricks aswell" He said, as a shadow of Sora appeared infront of the spiky haired boy. Could he conjure them up of everyone? "You can go see your friends now" And with that the younger boy dropped through a sudden hole in the floor and disappeared. Couldn't anyone ever just walk out of a door normally? It was all portals and trapped doors with these people. Riku had finally taken a step away from Tane however, and was now starring daggers at Hook,

"Let's get under way already, and keep Sora away from Kairi until we're ready to land" He sounded stranger than normal, especially his next words that were directed at the younger girl. "Stay with Kairi, I have other things to take care of" She didn't even get a hug before he walked away. What had that mist done to him? Frowning, Tane shrugged it off and sat beside her sister. And couldn't carry her back to cabin by herself, and neither did she like the idea of letting some random pirate carry Kairi. Unfortunately as soon as Riku was gone everything suddenly went dark again. This was starting to get annoying.

A/N: New chapter up, reviews wanted as always, thankyou to everyone who's keeping up with this Z-Nugget xx


	16. Awakened Power

Urgh. It felt like something had hit her over the head- again. These people really had to stop doing that. And why were people shouting so loudly so near her.. No wait they weren't shouting, it just seemed like it. What the hell had happened... Something wasn't right.. but what.. Frowning slightly, her eyes still shut whilst thinking, she tried to focus on the voices. They were still going on, but most of it was fuzzy,

"Wendy!" Who was Wendy? Last time she checked that wasn't her name.. Was it? No, it definitely wasn't Wendy, it was Tane. All these hits to the head really weren't paying off. Yes, she was Tane and she was on a ship.. Because of Riku and… seriously why did someone have to hit her over the head. That just wasn't friendly. The only good thing right now was the voices were becoming clearer.

"There are two girls here, one looks younger than the other but otherwise they look the same. Peter please help" That was a girls voice, and not one she recognised. Maybe Wendy? And who was Peter? Why were there so many people she didn't know.

"Are they ok?" A boys voice.. This time one Tane recognised slightly. Was she one of the two girls that he was asking about?

"The younger one seems to be asleep, but the other hasn't budged an inch.." Tane frowned, had she moved at all? Was she the one that was asleep or not moving.

"Kairi?, Tane?" Kairi… She knew that name. And the boy had just said her name aswell. Unfortunately that meant she should probably open her eyes to see what he wanted.. but that hurt. Instead she went for making a, 'mhnm' sound in complaint, and brought her hand up to rub the sore spot on her head. Why couldn't these people just let her sleep?

"Tane wake up!" The boy sounded more flustered now.. Sora.. That was it, the name just popped into her head. She was sure of it, Sora. Her old friend.. _her_ old friend? No someone else's. But who's. Sora continued to shout her name though, and she eventually gave up on trying to go back to sleep and opened her eyes to the painful light. It took her several seconds of blinking for her eyes to adjust, but everything came rushing back when she did. Kairi, she'd been trying to help her sister. That was who wouldn't wake up..

"Tane" Sora's voice again.. She looked around the cabin again, over looking the other girl in the corner and finding Sora through a hole in the floor. How had he got down there? She crawled over to the hole- not trusting her legs to hold her up yet, plus just moving was giving her a splitting headache, and faced Sora.

"What're you doing?" She questioned, but didn't get the answer she was looking for.

"What's wrong with Kairi?" Ok, last time she'd checked, a question wasn't answered with a question, why did he think it was? Couldn't he have atleast asked a question she knew the answer to. Looking over at her sister she shook her head, wishing she did know,

"She was like that when I got put in here…" She trailed off her thoughts turning to Riku. Shouldn't he have come to help her by now? No, he wasn't right from that mist. Banging at the door jerked her from her thoughts and she took hold of her sisters hand. Whether her heart was there or not Kairi was still her sister. As the door was pushed open, and Wendy grabbed by a pirate Tane was sure she'd seen her sister's hand move towards Sora's through the gap. But before she could think it over another set of pirates had grabbed both herself and Kairi and were carrying them off. If someone knocked her unconscious again, she really was going to be pissed. Luckily they were only carried, or dragged in Tane's case, to Hooks cabin again. They were left there alone for a little while, until Hook entered and took Wendy away. He barely glanced at either sister.

The worst part of having to stay on this ship was it was making the young girl start to miss her old room in that dark mansion. And that really was saying something. Atleast there had been a bed there, and a bathroom, and food on a daily bases. Where as here she couldn't even remember the last time she'd had any of those luxuries.

Standing up in time to see Riku enter the room, Tane let go of Kairi's hand and walked over to him. He still looked exactly the same, and still seemed to act mostly the same, but there was something Tane couldn't put her finger on that. Once again he swept her into his arms, and pressed a kiss to her lips, though before she could react he'd let go of her and moved of to Kairi picking the unconscious girl up in his arms. Honestly, Tane did feel a slight pang of jealousy at seeing her sister in Riku's arms, whether she knew she shouldn't or not.

Another sound of someone in the room caught her attention however, and she took her eyes from Riku and Kairi to the spiky haired boy at the other side of the room.

"Riku wait!" He called, but it was no use. He had already conjured up a portal underneath where he and Tane were stood, and all 3 disappeared through it, leaving a confused and angry Sora in the cabin with that shadow thing again. 'He should really teach me some of these tricks' She thought to herself but was stopped when they exited the portal back to one of the rooms in the mansion. Riku was on the floor panting, like he couldn't get his breath, and Kairi was laid next to him. The younger redhead frowned, a look of worry covering her features as she knelt beside both of them. What was wrong with him?

"It was reckless to bring her here without atleast using a vessel" Oh great, Maleficent was here again. But her words definitely made Riku look angry.. he was still panting but now he looked mad too. "Remember, relying too heavily on the powers of darkness could cost you your heart" That seemed to anger him even more, as he pushed Tane to the side and stood up scowling. Tane stumbled slightly losing her balance, but managed not to squish Kairi under her. "A castaway" She said, indicating to the sudden sound that had happened behind where the three young people were standing. "Though his world perished, his heart did not. When we took the princess from his castle, he apparently followed her here through sheer force of will" That sounded so sweet in Tane's book. To follow someone you loved when they were taken. It was like a fairytale. She couldn't help but wonder if Riku would do that for her. She wasn't so sure with this new version. "But fear not. No harm will come to you, he is no match for your power" Ok, since when had that blonde haired boy got so many _amazing_ powers? Or rather, how had he? Now suddenly he was strong enough to take on some beast person in the corner that looked pretty damn big and powerful. That didn't just happen naturally over night.

"My power?" Alright then, apparently he didn't even know about this power! Maybe Maleficent was just talking out her ass..

"Yes, the untapped power that lies within you" Yes, definitely out her ass. "Now child, it's time you awakened that power" Ha how did he like it, being called a child. Maybe it wasn't the same as a baby which he used to take delight in calling Tane, but child was close enough. But she didn't like the way this was going. The mist version of Riku was strange enough, having another lot of power in him.. No, she didn't want that. But before she could protest more green mist had appeared around her friend. Once again she waited until it was over before calling his name, only the result was even more drastic than the first time,

"I need to talk with him alone, take your sister and leave" What right did Maleficent have to tell her that? Riku wouldn't agree though, he wouldn't leave her and Kairi alone. But he didn't protest... He just stood there, and when she didn't make any attempt to move, lift Kairi up and pushed her onto Tane, forcing the younger girl to take more than her own weight and stumble backwards. Luckily she was getting better at being caught by surprise and managed not to fall over.

"Riku?" She questioned, hoping he'd come help her, tell Maleficent to get fucked and all three would walk out of the room together. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

"Go" Back to the old emotionless, stone cold Riku again… wonderful. Giving up, the younger redhead struggled out of the room, supporting her sister as best as possible, before collapsing in the hallway.

A/N: Something isn't right with Riku =/ Well, well. Next chapter up soon, reviews as always are wanted and helpful, so please do. Thanks for reading Z-Nugget xx


	17. Decision

Tane stood in a huge room that she hadn't seen before, only she wasn't alone. Well, there was no one else awake.. but there were other people atleast. All the princesses apparently. After she'd made such a big deal of not wanting to be separated from Kairi, Maleficent had miraculously given in, and she was now watching over her sisters' lifeless body. It was strange, the other 6 princesses were held into the walls, but Kairi was lying down on a table type thing. She recognised one of the princesses, the one furthest away from her. It was the girl Riku had taken from Agrabah. But she wasn't awake now… What she couldn't understand, was why the rest were sleeping? Kairi fair enough, she was lacking a heart, but the others as far as she knew were all fine. Maybe it was just easier if they weren't all complaining, it couldn't be nice to be kidnapped and held in a wall after all.

The sound of shoes against the stone wall snapped her from Tane from her thoughts however, and she wheeled around in time to see Maleficent walk past her to the other side of the room. Instinctively she moved closer to Kairi, though because of the bubble type thing her sister was being held in there was only so close she could get.

"O Purest of hearts! Reveal to me the keyhole!" Jumping at the sudden sound, and the harshness of the green woman's voice, a small frown flickered over Tane's features. Keyhole? What keyhole? Looking around the room she saw no door, and no keyhole. But something was happen with the princesses. A pink light shone out from each of their chests where their hearts were, all meeting in the middle of the room and veering off together in a single line to somewhere above a set of stairs. It truly looked magical, but was that the keyhole then?

Standing up and taking several steps from Kairi's side, the younger girl started to follow the light, pausing at the bottom of the staircase. That witch had gone up there, was it really a good idea to follow purely out of curiosity that would probably be her downfall. Then again, what did she have to lose? Besides her heart.. Shrugging the thoughts off, Tane crept up the stairs, continuously glancing over her shoulder the whole way, still not liking the idea of leaving Kairi on her own. But her sister would be fine, she was too _precious _to harm. Honestly, even she was shocked at the bitterness in her head. Kairi was nothing but loving to her and it wasn't fair to blame her for something like this. Letting out a small sigh, part relief for reaching the top of the seemingly never ending staircase, the redhead ran a hand through her hair, brushing it from her face and wishing she'd bothered to tie it up before all of this had happened. It sure would have been easier without her hair falling infront of her eyes every 5 seconds. But that wasn't the problem at hand right now. The current problem was Maleficent noticing she had been followed, and that Tane really shouldn't have been up here. This wasn't looking good. Taking several steps backwards towards the stairs again the younger girl held her breath readying herself for Maleficents outburst.

Only, one didn't come. Instead the woman wore a sickly smile as she turned her attention back to the door the light was pointing at. So that was the keyhole..

"Go, Riku needs you"

Well, that really was unexpected. The whole sentence didn't seem right coming from her lips. But it definitely had… Ok, so 'go wasn't that far fetched. She'd lost track of how many times that woman had told her to leave somewhere, but Riku needing her. That didn't seem right from anyone saying it. What good would she be if he needed her? Unless that meant something had gone wrong. What if he was in trouble? Or hurt? No. He couldn't be. She couldn't be right. But could she really take that chance and stay with Kairi?

Shaking her head the younger redhead ran down the stairs, making quick work of them before stopping beside her sisters 'bed'. Maybe it was just because of her worrying thoughts about Riku, but It really was starting to resemble a coffin… giving Kairi one last glance, Tane took off for the doorway not stopping again until she reached several other sets of doors. Great. So Maleficent couldn't have stretched farenough for _where_ Riku needed her. No, ofcourse not, that would've actually been useful! Panicking wouldn't help… Or atleast that was what she was attempting to tell herself. In reality panicking seemed the only sensible thing. Which door? How the hell was she meant to know which door to use! Shutting her eyes for several seconds Tane attempted to calm down and listen. If something was going on, logically there should be sound…

A roar… Ok, surely she'd just imagined that? But what else did she have to go on? Taking the far door Tane took off at a sprint again, really starting to wish she were fitter. Now would have been great time to use a portal. Maybe Riku deserved everything he got for not teaching her that! No, that was just wrong to even think.

"Quit…you…" It was quiet, and in the distance, but there were definitely voices. And that Riku's voice, she was sure of it. That was enough for anyone in her position to quicken their speed, and Tane reached the entrance hall within less than a minute. The sight of what was happening made her stop mid step though. Since when did Riku wear black? And he wasn't in danger either! Well, that was debatable. Sora didn't look happy, and the blondes next sentence didn't help that,

"How will you fight without a weapon?" Fight? Why the hell was he talking about fighting, Sora was meant to be his best friend even he had got new friends… Something was wrong. Moving closer to the balcony edge to get a better view of the boys on the floor below, Tane held her breath unsure of what to expect. They wouldn't fight each other, whether something was wrong with Riku or not. Surely..?

"I know now, I don't need the keyblade" That was a good sign, that meant Sora didn't want to fight, right? "I've got a better weapon" Maybe not. "My heart!" Then again… She was starting to get dizzy from Sora's back and forth with himself on fighting, or maybe she was putting too much thought into it all… Riku seemed smug with the brunettes' answer though, as if it wasn't even good enough to be spoken,

"Your heart? What good will that weak little thing do for you?" How big headed could that guy get? Did he really think everyone's heart was better than his? She was really starting to miss the old new version of him.

"Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone" Then again, Sora agreed It was weak. Who would agree they had a weak heart? Frowning Tane pulled herself up ontop of the balcony edge and sat down, letting her legs hang over the edge. Hopefully they weren't going to fight and she could just observe the conversation. "It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all the friends I've made." So while Sora had been out making new friends, she'd been stuck in a dark mansion by herself 50% of the time, and Riku the other 50%.. Maybe she should have chosen to go with the brunette when she'd had the chance… No, just because Riku had changed now, that didn't mean he was changed for good. "I've become part of their heart, just as they've become part of mine" And Riku had become part of hers. "I don't need a weapon, my friends are my power!" That was fine and all, but didn't sound too good when holding a wooden toy sword… But his words suddenly made a light appear from Riku's hand and the keyblade disappeared, only to reappear several seconds later in Sora's hand. The blondes confused expression mirrored Riku's, what the hell had happened? Another keyblade appeared in Riku's hand though in just enough time for him to block Sora's attack. Great, so they were going to fight.

Moving back off the balcony ledge Tane ran down the stairs leading to the ground floor where the boys were fighting. Honestly, she didn't want to get in the way of the fight, they probably wouldn't stop if she got skewered with one of the keyblades, so staying at the base of the steps seemed a good idea.

Unfortunately the steps proved to be, not so face. As the redhead still had to dodge several balls of fire from Sora. When the hell did he learn how to do that? Did everyone have amazing powers except her now. A sudden explosion of light between both boys caught her attention again, a small squeak parting her lips. That really didn't look good… Neither did Riku bent over panting, But atleast his clothes went back to his normal yellow jacket rather than that weird black outfit.

Moving away from the steps, Tane went over to Riku attempting to help him stand up, only to be shoved away as he took off in another direction. Now what was she meant to do, follow him or stay with Sora?

A/N: Ok then, there'll be 2 more chapters after this, I know I said that a few chapters ago but there really will only be two more, 3 at most… xD What should she do, stay with Sora or go after Riku? Reviews, as always please, they really are helpful. Z-Nugget xx


	18. Confounded Heartless'

Running after Riku wasn't the greatest thing in the world. Thankfully Tane was one of the fastest runners she knew, and easily beat the older boy when they were younger on Destiny Island, so he wasn't hard to keep up with. Trying to get him to stop however, that was hard. After shouting his name several times she'd given up on that idea, and instead attempted to grab his arm, only to be shaken off. That only left the option of running after him until he decided to stop. Which hopefully would be soon.

"Why? It was mine." Was he talking to himself or wanting an answer? Either way he'd finally slowed down, coming to a halt. And therefore let Tane catch her breath. Yeah, she really needed to become fitter.

"Know this," Who the hell was that? Both teenagers looked around, one looking slightly more frightened than the other. Even with everything that had happened, voices appearing from nowhere was still… strange. "The heart that is strong and true shall win the keyblade" Wasn't Riku's heart strong and true? Considering he was always bragging about how strong it was…

"What? You're saying my heart's weaker than his?" Uh oh, he sounded angry now. Then again who wouldn't after being told you had a weak heart.

"For that instant, it was" Ok, where was that voice coming from? Frowning Tane surveyed the room, there was a slight blur of something from infront of Riku, and she took several steps closer to him to get a better view. "However, you can become stronger" Stronger? Stronger as weird Riku or normal Riku? Honestly, she didn't want weird Riku any stronger.. Not if it made him weirder. "You showed no fear in stepping through the door to darkness," This wasn't sounding good, though the blur was becoming clearer into a hooded figure. "It held no terror for you, plunge deeper into the darkness, and your heart will grow even stronger" But was a stronger heart worth giving into darkness?

"What should I do?" Whether he was actually asking Tane or not this time, she was going to give her opinion,

"Don't. Please Riku, don't do this" Her voice caught his initial attention, and he seemed to waver on what to do. Was there still enough of the old blonde in their? Shaking his head he looked back up at the hooded figure.

"It's really quite simple, open yourself to the darkness" Came his answer, making the younger girl start to really dislike the half invisible person. "Let your heart, your being, become darkness itself" Unfortunately it seemed he was going to listen to this person, as a green mist appeared around the older boy again, brighter than before to the point Tane had to look away covering her eyes.

Once it was gone, along with the hooded person, she unshielded her eyes, finally looking back at Riku. Besides his outfit changing to black again he appeared the same. But there was something different about him… Almost as though it wasn't the boy she'd grown to love anymore.

This time she didn't bother to call his name, and instead just followed him out of the room. She doubted he would even answer to that name anymore. Sora was still somewhere in the castle, is she searched he probably wouldn't be that hard to find, just go towards the heartless attacking. But odds were 'Riku' was going back to the keyhole room, and that meant she'd be back with Kairi. Or to an unknown dungeon to kill her.

Luckily her risk paid off, and she entered the same room as earlier behind the blonde boy. Unfortunately Maleficent was still stood in there, but that didn't stop her running to her sisters side and taking a hold of her hand. She was no longer in the coffin type holder, and instead was lying on the floor. Why had she been down graded?

"So I see the path has emerged at last" That didn't even sound like him anymore… Sighing Tane gripped Kairi's hand tighter. She couldn't feel it anyway.

"Yes, the keyhole to the darkness"

"Unlock it and the darkness will overrun this world" Did that mean just this world, would every other be safe? Would she be safe?

"What do I care? The darkness holds no power over me" She sure looked dark with that sickly green skin and vile voice… "Rather, I will use its power to rule all worlds" Ok, so no world would be safe then.

"Such confidence" That was coming from the guy that was practically cocky with confidence. And for some reason he conjured up his keyblade after saying that, only that too looked different. But nothing else happened. Was something meant to happen?

"Impossible! The princesses of heart are all here!" Something was meant to happen then. "It must be her" Tane looked down at Kairi when the other two in the room did, a frown covering her features again. What must be her sister? She couldn't be held responsible for that keyhole not working, she didn't even have a heart! Unfortunately the attention on her sister meant Maleficent and 'Riku' had also gathered around the older redhead.

"Without her heart, she will never be able release her power." What did 'Riku' mean? What power? Seriously, did _everyone_ have a power except her?

The sound of other people in the castle nearby caught all of their attentions,

"The kings fools are here" Said Maleficent, causing Tane to grip her sisters hand tighter. She wasn't entirely sure who 'the kings fools' were, but taking a guess she'd say it was that dog and duck that were with Sora. "I'll deal with them myself" The green woman muttered before leaving the room and heading into another one. Normally she'd be happy to be rid of that woman and left with Riku, but in normal circumstances Riku would've had his arm around her and not had a civilised conversation with Maleficent. But this wasn't normal circumstances.

Silence encircled the room for what seemed like an eternity, and it really did seem like you could cut the atmosphere with a… keyblade. And she was honestly thankful when the older boy disappeared through a portal for a while. Unfortunately that didn't last very long, and he was soon back through another portal. What was going on with Sora? She wanted to ask, but it was obvious one of the princesses was more likely to give her an answer…

Though within several minutes her thoughts on Sora were answered, as the spiky brunette came running up the stairs case, the 'kings fools' in toe. Only some invisible field thing stopped the fools, causing them to fall over backwards. Tane couldn't help a slight giggle, but soon sobered up as the younger boy ran to her sisters' side,

"Kairi!" He shouted, picking her up into his arms, "Kairi! Kairi! Open your eyes!" Because no one had tried that to make her wake up. Scowling slightly, she gripped her sisters hand tighter, refusing to let Sora take all of her.

"It's no use…" Both looked up to see Riku standing infront of the doorway. Did he always have to state the obvious like that? "That girl has lost her heart. She can not wake up" That girl? Since when did he ever call her that girl. Tane wiped her eyes on the back of her hand quickly, realisation that it really wasn't Riku anymore finally dawning over her. Composing herself quickly, she gave a small nod at Sora's next words,

"What? You… You're not Riku." He said, putting Kairi down and standing up. Wow, wasn't he a genius.

"The keyhole cannot be complete" What was this big deal with the keyhole? As far as Tane could gather it just involved darkness, and that really didn't seem like such a great thing… "So long as the last princess of hearts still sleeps" With that, 'Riku' jumped down from a pipe he'd been sitting on and landed infront of the keyhole.

"The princess… Kairi's a princess?"

"Yes, she's a princess, well done" Tane muttered sarcastically, she couldn't help it. Sure Sora was actually a nice person, and it wasn't his fault he didn't know, but everyone was basically acting like she wasn't there.

"Yes, and without her power the keyhole will remain incomplete" Apparently she was still being ignored. "It is time she awakened" Awakened? Did she hear that right? Kairi could be awakened now?

"Whoever you are, let Riku go! Give him his heart back!" Though Sora seemed to care more about Riku than her sister.

"But first," Said Riku "You must give the princess back her heart"

"What?" Both young teens said, surely he'd just made a mistake. But Tane didn't get long to think it over as Riku pointed his keyblade at Sora causing him to take several steps backwards, a bright light emitting from his chest.

"Don't you see it?" Riku questioned from beside the keyhole, "The princesses heart is responding, it has been there all along" Wait, Kairi's heart was _inside _Sora? Now that really was going too far, and it took all of her strength not to stand up and demand he give it back.

"Kairi's… Kairi's inside me?" Wow, he really was top of his game today wasn't he, and that really wasn't a sentence Tane ever wanted to hear… "Who are you?" He questioned after a few seconds, standing up properly again.

"It is I, Ansem, the seeker of darkness" Well, considering how happy he was to answer, he could've said sooner. "So, I shall release you now princess" He said, walking over to Sora and pointing his keyblade at him. It wasn't going to harm he was it? How many more people needed to be hurt? "Open the door, lead me into everlasting darkness!" She was really starting to miss the old Riku… Sure he could be an ass at times, but atleast he wasn't obsessed with darkness.

'Riku' or rather Ansem moving to attack Sora's heart with the keyblade was enough to snap Tane's head up from her sister to watch, and it seemed like something had snapped within him too as he suddenly blocked Riku's attack,

"Forget it! There's no way you're taking Kairi's heart!" All hell broke lose after that with both boys fighting. Tane attempted to pick up her sister as best she could and pull her to the edge of the 'rink', the invisible barrier still up and stopping her from getting herself and her sister out the way. On the plus side the fight didn't last long and she only had to dodge a handful of fire and ice, but the bad side was what happened once it had finished. Riku stood with his back to Tane, the sound of his keyblade falling to the floor causing the room to fall into silence again, until he disappeared into a portal in the floor.

"RIKU!" Sora's voice mirrored the younger redheads at the sight of their 'friend' vanishing. She vaguely heard the Duck say something about the keyhole, but her attention was focused on the spot Riku had just gone through. Even if that wasn't him, it was still his body…

"The keyholes not finished yet"

"Who Cares?" Tane stood up finally having enough of that stupid keyhole. What did it matter? It wasn't helping anyone, it wasn't doing anything! All that damn keyhole had done was create chaos. Kairi's heart had been taken and was now inside Sora, Sora had ditched his old friends for two animals, and god only knows what happened to Riku! Everyone had gained powers and become 'superheroes' or 'princesses of hearts' or 'keyblade masters' or-

"Maybe we've gotta wake Kairi up" Great. He wasn't even listening to her. "If we can free her heart… But…But how?" Sora questioned to himself, looking around the room. Kairi, Kairi, Kairi. It was always about Kairi. Tane knew she shouldn't be bitter of her sister, non of this was her fault. Unless she chose her heart to go into Sora's. Then it was definitely her fault! Frowning she moved back to her sisters side, but stayed standing this time as Sora had picked up Riku's fallen keyblade and was moving closer. "A keyblade that unlocks peoples hearts… I wonder…" Only he stopped several spaces away and turned the keyblade to himself, before flashing a grin at his two friends and plunging it into his chest. A light emitted from both Sora and the keyblade again, before it shot backwards several more little round orbs appearing, dispensing down the room to where all the princesses were being held and going into them, until one final orb of light came out and Sora and floated over to Kairi, disappearing into her chest. Was that her heart being put back?

The younger redhead looked from Kairi to Sora in time to see one rise and the other fall to the floor, only when her sister tried to reach her fallen friend he disappeared into hundreds of orbs all floating off into the sky.

"Sora, are you really…" She heard her sister say as she moved beside her, linking her hand into hers. It was nice to feel the older girl squeeze back, but things still weren't right. Now both boys were gone. "No, he can't be. I wont let him go!"

"And I wont let Riku go" She muttered in-between her sisters personal rant. Whether Kairi heard or not she made no comment, and instead turned her attention to a blonde man standing infront of them. Only it wasn't Riku…

"So you have awakened at last princess. The keyhole is now complete, you have served your purpose" Served her purpose? What was she, food that had passed its sellbuy date? Tane frowned gripping her sisters hand tighter. Who the hell did this guy think he was?

"Don't make another move!" Said the duck, who Tane still needed to learn the name of, as the new man several steps towards the girls. That didn't seem to stop him though, something else- or someone else rather, did.

"Impossible" He muttered as a light appeared from his chest, only it quickly changed to an image of Riku.

"No. You won't use me for this!" That was him! That was Riku, it was actually him.

"Riku!" Both girls shouted, only Tane's portrayed a lot more emotion. But he wasn't really there was he? He was more like.. a ghost… No. He was fine, he had to be fine. He'd get fine.

"You've got to run, the heartless are coming!" He shouted back as several little creatures- much like the ones that Tane had seen earlier started to surround them. But she couldn't leave without him,

"Riku-"

"GO" Biting down on her lip Tane took off after her sister and the animals down the steps, not looking back over her shoulder no matter how much she wanted to for fear of what she might see.

All four of them had to pause for breath as they rounded another corner into the main room Sora and Riku had been fighting in earlier. It was clear of those heartless creatures for now, except one had followed them.

"Confounded heartless! Get lost, will ya?" Said the duck that Tane had finally learnt was called Donald as he hit the poor thing over the head with his staff. Considering that was what they were meant to be running from, he didn't seem very threatening.

"Sora?" Kairi question, making Tane give her an are-you-mad? Look. Did she honestly think that heartless was Sora? That didn't even make sense. Though it could explain the subdued nature… Unfortunately several more heartless suddenly appeared, surrounding them tighter than before, so Tane didn't have chance to ponder over the thought. Instead she instinctively moved closer to Kairi, but was stopped as atleast 4 of the heartless all dived at her sister and the Sora heartless.

"Kairi!" She shouted, stumbling backwards out of the way, but once more a bright light appeared only this time a happy site was at the end of it. All the heartless had disappeared, and Kairi was fine. She was also in the arms a normal looking Sora. But before the two could properly talk or embrace, Tane didn't want to think about the latter, heartless started to appear again. All 5 readied themselves, though there was no need as a huge beast looking creature was suddenly on the balcony above them shouting orders at them,

"Go! Now!" Hopefully he was on their side.

"Come with us" Sora said back, only Tane wasn't so sure she wanted a beast coming with them after all this.

"I told you before. I'm not leaving without Belle" On second thoughts, he was there for someone he loved apparently, he should come with them! Once he'd gotten Belle ofcourse. "Now go. The heartless are coming" His words eerily echoed Riku's and Tane took her sisters hand pulling her forward. The five took off again towards a ship Sora explained would take them to another world where he had to talk to someone.

A/N: Ok this was rather long O.o Anyway, so the last chapter for Tane will be the next one =/ I'm Kinda curious on what you think will happen, so leave reviews with that please! (I'll give you a clue, she'll be at the white doorway that gets shut with Riku and Mickey on one side and Sora and whoever on the other.) So do you think it'll be a happy ending, or sad or she'll go with Riku or Sora or what? I really want to know what you guys thinks. I'll upload in roughly a week once I'm completely happy with it. Anything's possible after all ;) Thanks for reading Z-Nugget xx


	19. Doorways

The 'Gummi Ship' as Sora had called it was.. strange to say the least. It actually looked like you could eat part of it and Tane had to resist from testing that theory. Donald spent the whole time complaining about there being too many people on board, but nobody was listening to him. He really was an annoying squeaky duck…

But now they were all stood in a small one roomed house, with three more people in there Tane didn't know. Sora was talking to a brown haired man leaning against the wall who was wearing a 'too-cool-to-care look.

"Tell me what happened." Was he in charge or something? The younger girl only half listened as Sora explained the details of everything. A few things such as Ansem caught his direct interest, but the spiky haired boy couldn't elaborate anymore.

"So the darkness is flowing out of that keyhole…" That didn't sound promising.

"No wonder there are more and more heartless everywhere" Said one of the girls in pink sat on the bed. She did have a point though, there had seemed to be more heartless since they'd arrived here, and they weren't the cute looking kind either. "The only way to stop them is…"

"To seal the keyhole?" Sora piped up waving his keyblade in the air. He was going to poke someones eye out if he wasn't careful.

"Maybe," Said the brown haired man, "But no one knows what will happen once it's sealed"

"Well, we can't just stay here, we have to do something!" Since when had he become to… determined to fight for good? Maybe everyone had changed since Destiny Island. "I've got a friend back there!" That could explain it. He'd always fought for his friends and after that speech he'd give Ansem about his heart being with his friends. Well, ofcourse Sora would want to go back for him, and Tane would happily join him.

"That's right, you have one more friend to worry about. Riku's keyblade must have been born of the captive princesses' hearts, just like the keyhole you saw. Ofcourse, without Kairi's heart, it remained incomplete." Her sister being so important was starting to get annoying, and Sora's lovesick expression every time he looked at Kairi was also starting to get on the younger girls nerves. "Once that keyblade was destroyed, the princesses' hearts should have been freed. It seems they all have, but haven't returned to where they lived. I suspect they're still in the castle." What, those other princesses' were choosing to stay there or something? Were they mad?

Not bothering to listen to the end of the conversation, Tane walked over to the far side of the room, sliding down the wall and crossing her legs at the bottom. She vaguely noticed Sora and his two friends leaving the room, but she had no idea where they were going and could only hope they wouldn't have left for Riku without her. What had gone so wrong… It was all Maleficents fault, and Ansem's. They'd corrupted him… Sure, it was partly Riku's decision to choose darkness, but in his position she couldn't honestly say she wouldn't have done the same. The three other girls talked for over an over, but Tane continued to stay in her own bubble, it was easier like that. Infact she didn't pay any attention to anyone else until Kairi walked over to her and held out her hand,

"Come on, I need to meet Sora" The younger sister frowned raising an eyebrow. Why would she want her to go with her? Tane couldn't exactly make a brilliant bodyguard, especially when taking into account the fact she was small than her sister. But never the less she stood up, ignoring the offered hand and slipped her own hands into her short pockets. Kairi didn't bother to start a conversation as they exited the room, both running down a set of stairs and across to another door with a fire symbol on it. Just where was she meeting Sora? Going through the door a frown appeared on the older sisters face as she looked around. There was a huge lake inside, with a little house in the middle and stepping stones to get to it. Without thinking any further, Tane took a run up and jumped onto the first stone. She glanced back over her shoulder, not being able to hide the smile that was creeping over her features at the worried look on her sisters' face. Good, Kairi deserved to be the one worrying for once after the past few weeks she'd had. Jumping onto the next stone she called over her shoulder,

"I thought you were meant to be meeting Sora, standing there all day won't work" The mention of Sora seemed to get her moving again, as she then jumped to the first stone and followed her sister across to the house. Both looked at each other when they reached the other side, one having no idea where they were actually meant to be going.

"Leon said there was a passage way in Merlin's house to a cavern I can meet Sora in" Kairi said, before knocking on the door and going in. Shrugging Tane followed. An old man with a long beard stood in the corner, his head in a book. He didn't even bother to look up as they entered, and instead pointed to a rug on the floor. Were they meant to stand on it? Would it take them to some magic location? Standing beside Kairi, Tane moved onto the rug, stumbling slightly as it started to drop down. Ok, so she wasn't that far off with the guessing. She hadn't guessed however, that there would be another staircase before the actual cavern.

"I'll stay here" She muttered, sitting down on one of the steps and getting comfy. Her sister would probably be talking to Sora for hours. A hand on her shoulder made her frown though, and she glanced up into the bright blue eyes of her sister.

"We'll get him back, don't worry" And with that she walked down the steps to meet her friend.

From where Tane was sitting it was quite easy to either listen in on their conversation or ignore it completely. So that's what she did for most of it, ignore it. After all, why would she want to listen to her sister talk about how great everything was now. The only thing that got her attention was Sora's last few words,

"No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within" Seriously, when had he become so wise? Well, the next part of the conversation also caught her attention aswell, and caused her to stand up and join in. "You can't go" Did he just say her sister couldn't go? Did that mean he would also think she couldn't go?

"Why not?" Both sisters questioned in unison, Tane joining her side. He better have a bloody good reason for saying something like that.

"Because it's way too dangerous" Dangerous? This whole experience had been dangerous, being with Maleficent had been dangerous, being in the same hall as Riku and Sora fighting had been dangerous. He couldn't now decide it was suddenly _too _dangerous.

"Come on Sora. We made it this far by sticking together" Actually if Tane recalled correctly, Kairi had done bugger all but stayed inside Sora's heart. If anything, she'd done more than her sister had!

"Kairi, even if we're not apart, we're not alone anymore" Was she invisible again?

"So I can't help?" Yeah, she was invisible again

"You'd kind of be in my way" Ok, it probably wasn't kind to laugh at that. But she couldn't help it, and the look on Kairi's face made it funnier.

"Ok, you win" Hold on, did she just give in? Sora better not think she was talking for her sister aswell. There was no way Tane was going to give in. Not when she could help Riku. But as Kairi then gave Sora her keychain, the younger started to realise there was no way she'd be able to get Sora to change his mind. There was also no way she'd be able to get there. Neither one of the dog or duck would stay behind, and that computer guy had apparently restructured the gummi ship to make it faster, and taken out any spare seats.

The next few hours were the longest of Tane's life. After goodbyes had been made and the three 'heroes' had left, much to her disapproval at being left behind, everyone else went back to the tiny-roomed house. The three that already knew each other sat together talking reasonably happily, accepting Kairi after a while and letting her join in. But Tane was happier to sit in the corner alone again. Atleast until the computer guy came in and started talking about taking his ship to the castle. That definitely got the younger redheads attention, and she stood up immediately to go with them. The only downside came when being told that if she went she would never be able to get back to Destiny Island. But if Riku was stuck somewhere else, did she really want to go back to the island?

So she stayed with Kairi. Instantly she wished she'd gone with them, but it couldn't be changed now. Taking a seat on the now empty bed, Tane pulled her knees up to her chin, a comforting arm from her sister going around her shoulder, and waited… What else could she do though? Thinking everything through in her head wouldn't help, it would just lead to worry. And that wizard person they'd seen earlier didn't seem to be any help. The only other option was to create another ship to get her to god knows where and find Riku, which would take… longer than they had right now.

She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried when black portals started to appear on the floor again. It was a horrible similarity to the scene on Destiny Island, and she couldn't help but think what would have happened if it had never happened at all. If darkness had never come to the Island and taken them all away. Would she still have ever got with Riku? Would she have just stayed on the Island for the rest of her life? There were so many questions now spinning around her head now, that when she was pulled into the darkness it barely registered. However what did register was that she was now standing on what seemed to be the Island, with the older red head at her side. Only, as she looked around it didn't all look like the Island. What they were both standing on did, but infront of them was darkness, with a huge white door less than a 30 second run infront. What was going on? And who was stood by the door? Taking several steps forward, off of the 'island' Tane realised it was 'heroes', all three trying to shut the white door. Where did it lead to?

Rather than shouting across the gap, she took off at a run managing to get to the door at the same time as someone else appeared on the other side. Why were they trying to close it, they should be letting him through!

"What's going on?" She questioned out loud finally, manoeuvring past the spiky haired boy and to the gap in the door. The smile on Riku's face wasn't a comforting one given the circumstances, and Tane couldn't help the tears that threatened to spill over her eyes as everything became clear. Luckily the older boy pulling her into his arms helped to hide the fact she was about to have a break down.

"Don't be such a baby" He whispered into her ear, no sarcasm or nastiness audible in his voice. It took all of her strength to let go of the safety from the platinum haired boys' arms. This wasn't the green mist Riku, the one that had changed since she'd gotten to know him. This was her Riku…

"I'm not a baby" She said, attempting to sound strong, but failing miserably. The older boy didn't seem to care however, as he looked down at her.

"I'll be back for you, I promise" He said before pressing a sweet kiss to her lips, which unfortunately didn't last long enough in Tane's opinion. She wanted to hold onto him and tell him not to go, but he was already pushing her back through the door towards Sora- there embrace seconds before had meant she'd gone through it. Taking a step back, she gave a small nod, her eyes firmly fixed on the floor, not being able to face him now.

"Come on Sora, together we can do it!" The younger boy nodded, grinning at his best friend, before pushing the door, whilst Riku was pulling it.

"It's no use!" Said that stupid Duck that Tane had once again forgotten the name of. But just as he spoke a light appeared from the other side of the door where Riku was, blinding them all momentarily, so much so that the younger girl had to shield her eyes. Light was a good thing, right? Evidently, as when the redhead opened her eyes again, the King was suddenly standing next to Riku. Was he going to help them?

"Now Sora, let's close this door for good!" No. Not for good. For good when she was one side and Riku was on the other. No. They couldn't do that! Riku couldn't do that!

"But…" Both Sora and Tane said at once, only there was a lot more emotion in the girls voice. Sora's previous smile was also gone, apparently he hadn't thought his friend would end up there forever. Riku didn't seem to care though, and shook his head.

"Don't worry" He muttered continuing to push the door, "Now, they're coming!" Because that filled her with so much confidence to lock him with god knows what behind that door… But one last push would do it.. "Take care of her" He said to his best friend, as Tane finally gave in to the tears, letting them roll down her cheeks. This couldn't be happening, she couldn't be losing him. Wiping her eyes on the back of her hand quickly, she gave the door one last push. As the aqua green eyes she'd fallen in love with disappeared, she couldn't help but take a sudden gasp in. It felt like all the oxygen was escaping from her lungs, like all of her was escaping. Everything was escaping, into darkness...

Sora looked to the right just in time to see Tane's lifeless body fall to the floor. There was no blood, or cut, but there was neither anything left inside. She was merely an empty shell. Kairi's screams echoed Sora's emotions as the other girl moved forwards on the sand. He couldn't have failed Riku's request so soon. He'd just said he would look after Tane all of five seconds ago this couldn't have happened! And Kairi.. She looked so confused. Ofcourse she was confused, her sister had just.. Sora glanced between both sisters before running to Kairi, whether he'd agreed with Riku or not Kairi was the one who needed him right now. She was still… There. And Donald and Goofy were knelt besides Tane's body anyway, they could keep an eye on her for a second. He continued to run towards Kairi, out stretching his hand and taking hers, but she was already being pulled away by a quickly disappearing beach.

"Kairi!" He shouted but it was no use, that rock just wouldn't stop disappearing.

"Sora! Look after her!" She shouted, tears falling down her own cheeks before Sora himself fell through into the darkness.

A/N: Well. Unexpected/expected? Good/bad? This is the end for this story BUT there will be a sequel, I'm just not sure how that will end yet.. So, if you want the sequel look out for a new story on my page, it'll be up soon within a few weeks, called _Xenta_. Reviews are helpful as always, so please review the story as a whole. I want to thank Azura Soul Reaver and Mezwantzvgs who have reviewed basically every chapter, and everyone who has been keeping up this story and reviewing it, so thankyou all very much. Z-Nugget xxxx


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